Batman: Arkham Rebirth
by TheNoobsaibot56
Summary: It's been 8 months since the death of Batman. Crime in Gotham City has gone down, but things never stay quiet for long in this city. With all of Batman's potential successors off doing their own things, Gotham will need a new guardian. The last person on his list is none other than Selina Kyle. Can she step up to the plate and be the Knight Gotham needs? M for violence & themes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 **A/N: To cover some things I couldn't in the description: Bruce Wayne/ Batman WILL NOT be a core character in this story. It will focus on Catwoman becoming Batwoman. Jason Todd/ Red Hood will also not appear until WAY later in the story. I'm thinking the latter half of the middle of the story. I haven't fully decided all of the villains that will feature in this story. The ones I do know: Professor Pyg, Two-Face, The Penguin, Harley Quinn, and Black Mask (mention only) SPOILER ALERT: He's dead. I think that about covers everything**

20 minutes? That's a new record. And not a scratch on the new threads; thanks again Eddie. I hear a loud rumble in the distance. It couldn't be Gotham if it wasn't raining every five minutes. I need to get inside quick. Leather and spandex are Hell to get out of wet. I climb up to the third story landing of my new apartment, seeing as how my old one is… "under maintenance". The window is unlocked all the time, because I can't enter the building dressed as Catwoman. My cat, Diablo greets me at the window sill by rubbing his face against my leg and purring.

"Hello to you too, buddy." I say. "Mommy needs to shower and then I'll feed you."

I slip into my room where Felicia, the other cat, is lying asleep on the bed. I make sure to take the diamond I just "acquired" out of my pouch before sliding off my boots. I then slide the zipper of my suit down, stopping just below my navel. The suit then just falls off my upper body, allowing me to easily slide the rest over my waist and step out.

I step into the bathroom and into the shower. When the warm water runs over my body, I feel all the worries of the world wash off, leaving me with only my happy thoughts. Memories. I remember the nights he and I had. Nights like this. I know we weren't in a relationship per say, but dammit I liked it. The way he would toy with me, feel me, kiss me. Then this Arkham Knight character shows up and ruins it all. Just when I thought we were going to advance, he became so distant. It was like he didn't want anything to do with me. And then he died. I know he's not really dead, but he didn't keep in contact. I would have gladly run off with him, we could have been happy. We could have been in love. I don't and never will need him, but it would have been nice to have someone.

I finish washing up and turn off the water. After drying off and changing into a tank top and some sweats, I went into the kitchen to make some tea. It had been a while since I'd checked my phone, so I grabbed it to see if I had anything new. An unread message from an unknown number.

 _-Tomorrow 6:00am. Go to the old Falcone shipyards on Bleake Island. A car will be waiting for you._

 _9:45pm_

 _Is this for business?-_

 _11:05pm_

30 minutes went by and they didn't respond. I decided to let it go, so I grabbed my tea, fed the cats, and went to lie down.

While in bed I went to his number.

 _Bruce?_

 _What happened? I saw your house_

 _explode._

 _Bruce?!_

 _12:30am_

Days went on. Weeks. I almost thought he was actually dead. But I started to put the pieces together. A few days after, rumors of a "hell-bat creature" started popping up. They said it moved in an inhuman way, struck too fast to be a man. It must have been a combination of him and lingering fear gas. He was still in Gotham. Then _it_ vanished. He vanished.

I decided to let it go and get some sleep because apparently I had somewhere to be in the morning

I woke to the sound of my alarm clock buzzing in my ear. 6:00am. I got up and looked out the window. A black limousine pulled up and stopped at the curb. Must be the car that person was talking about. Quickly, I got dressed and headed for the lobby.

There was a man, presumably the driver, waiting for me by the car. I was hesitant to get in, but decided that it might be beneficial to my financial situation to take this job, whatever it is. The car ride was long and boring. Any attempt at conversation I made was met with silence.

When we finally reached our destination, I saw that we were in fact in front of the old Falcone shipyard. I got out and the driver pulled off without even so much as a "good luck" or "bye".

"Great." I sighed, "There's nobody here."

" _Identification confirmed."_ I heard a generic-sounding robot respond.

Just then, the side of the warehouse opened up revealing a staircase leading into darkness. I descended the stairs not knowing what to expect down there, As I walked down the stairs, lights turned on letting me see where I was going. At the bottom, I was met with a large empty floor save a giant computer on the far wall.

"Hello?" I called out, "Anyone home?"

"Ah. I see you made it here safely." Barbara Gordon rolled up behind me.

"Gordon?" I didn't expect to see her here, "What is this place? Why am I here?"

"This is one of our many secret bat-caves scattered throughout the city." She replied. "And you're here because we have an offer for you."

"And what would that be?"

"After Scarecrow was defeated, and Batman disappeared, Bruce said it was time to choose his successor after he 'retired'"

"What, his bird friend didn't make the cut?"

"Nightwing refused. He doesn't want to be Batman. And Ti- I mean Robin, has decided to go solo. I still help him out, but he isn't interested either. So that leaves you Selina. What do you say? Ready to become a hero?"

"Barb, I- I don't know… You think I'm right for the job?" I asked.

"He did. You were on his list of potential successors. He trusts you Selina. He trusts that you can protect the city as he once did." She paused. "And don't worry, I'll be here, helping from behind the scenes."

"That sounds cool and all, but I don't even have a suit." I laughed.

"That reminds me…" she pushed a button on the computer's keyboard. "Lucius? You mind explaining to Ms. Kyle about her suit?"

Just then, an armory raised out of the floor. In the center was a Batman-esque looking suit—fit for a woman—that was gray with light purple accents. There were goggles around the cowl's eyes that looked similar to my Catwoman goggles.

"As you wish, Miss Gordon. The Batsuit v8.06: similar to Mr. Wayne's latest Batsuit, this suit is designed with flexible plates overlaying a MR-fluid armor layer, and incorporating the latest in cutting-edge technology. The tri-weave bodysuit consists of an outer and inner layer made from a titanium-dipped tri-weave fiber mesh. Sandwiched in between is the MR-fluid based liquid armor system. The proprietary WayneTech Smart MR-fluid hardens in response to impacts, specifically designed to provide superior shock absorption, as well as enabling greater force delivery behind counterattacks. The liquid body armor layer is also more flexible than the ceramic or fiber-based alternatives used in previous batsuits, allowing for greater maneuverability and faster elimination of multiple targets in quick succession." The man explained.

"Basically, you'll take more punishment, hit harder, move faster, and look pretty sweet while doing it." Barbara finally said. I guess she saw the confused look on my face.

"Also, the suit can withstand fire from most firearms. Just don't let anyone get off a point-blank shot." the man added.

I don't think they planned on me refusing the deal. That suit must have cost millions to make.

"Now if you would direct your attention to the loading bay. I'll inform you about your car." Lucius smiled.

"Car? You mean I get my own Batmobile?" I asked, shocked.

"Indeed. The Batmobile MkIII. A smaller-more lightweight version of the Batmobile MkII, this car is perfectly tailored to fit you while driving. Along with the Battle Mode of the previous model, this Batmobile comes with the added Stalker Mode. While in Stalker Mode, you and the car are completely invisible to all radar and sensor technology known to man. This mode also has the added functionality of being able to turn into a walker allowing you to climb up walls of buildings should you need to. Your suit is also linked with the Batmobile allowing you to eject out of the car with the speed of a railgun. Don't worry your suit can handle the gs."

"And now you want to know if I'll accept?"

"Yes." Barbara chimed in. "If you need to sleep on it, y'know, think it over; that's fine. You can call or text me at the number I contacted you with."

"Alright. Thanks." I turned to walk out but stopped. "Hey, Barb. Do you know where he is? Or how I can contact him?"

"Sorry. I don't. He didn't tell anyone except Lucius. Nightwing and Robin don't even know where he and Alfred are." she responded.

I sighed. "Okay."

 **A/N: This will be the end of Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, Selina will call Barbara to answer the question. Is Selina ready to become Gotham's new protector? Will criminals have something new to fear in the form of Batwoman? What other vigilantes are lurking in the shadows of Gotham City? Only time will tell...**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

 **A/N: In this chapter, Selina will make the ultimate decision: accept Barbara and Lucius' offer and become Batwoman, or refuse and leave Gotham without a protector…**

Back in my apartment, I sat on the couch and thought about what I was going to do about this whole situation. I decided to consult with the best consultant I know.

I turned to Diablo who was sitting next to me, "D, do you think I should do it? Should I become a good guy?"

"Mrow" he responded.

"Of course you think I should. I just- I don't want to let anyone down. Y'know?"

"Meoww"

"Ugh. Why is this so hard? I need to sleep on it. Maybe that will help."

"Mow" I could Diablo wasn't interested in carrying this conversation on any longer.

Even though it felt good to sleep, I still couldn't really decide if I was ready "protect this city". _**Come on Selina, you need to make a decision.**_ _**He's counting on you.**_ I thought to myself. _**But why me? What can I give to this city? I'm nothing but a sleazy, thieving, bitch. At least that's what most of the city seems to think… If they don't like me as I am now, why would they like me in a different costume? It's that bastard Scarecrow's fault. If he hadn't tried to outsmart Batman, Bruce would never have had to unmask in front of everyone and I wouldn't be in this situation. Then again, it would be fun to crack a few skulls here and there… Ah, what the hell. I'll do it. I'll become Batwoman.**_

I pulled out my phone and went to Barbara's number.

 _Hey Barb. I've made my decision._

 _7:30am_

 _Great! So what is it? And don't_

 _worry, we'll understand if you don't_

 _want to do it._

 _7:33am_

 _I've decided that I'll do it._

 _I'll meet you at the shipyards later?_

 _7:35am_

 _That's awesome! This city will thank you_

 _And you know he'd appreciate you doing_

 _This._

 _7:36am_

Yeah I know he would appreciate it. It's just that he has a funny way of showing appreciation.

I arrived at the shipyards about an hour later. From the outside it doesn't look like any super high-tech base is hiding underneath it, but Bruce Wayne had a lot of money. And a man can do a lot with a lot of money. It made me how many more secret bat caves were hiding around Gotham. I guess now I know how Batman could seemingly be nowhere and everywhere at the same time; it was almost scary.

I stepped up to the large garage door, "Open." I commanded.

" _Identification confirmed."_ the building responded.

The large warehouse building opened up, allowing me to step into the darkness. _**Selina, you don't have to do this. You can still turn around.**_ No I can't. I've made my choice. There's no turning back; I've entered the belly of the beast. As I descended down into the cold darkness, I could almost feel him. Like the spirit of Batman was guiding me down. He probably felt like this the first time he put on the cowl.

"Barbara? You here?" I called out. No answer.

I reached the bottom and heard Barbara talking. "Tim, I've gotta go. Okay. Yeah. Love you too."

"Boyfriend?" I asked.

"Husband." she held up her hand, showing a wedding ring. "And colleague. Tim was Robin. Now he's leading a team up New York under the name Red Robin. They call themselves the Titans ***** ; they're a team of metahuman heroes that deal with problems too big for the police but too small for the Justice League."

"Wait. So I don't get a sidekick?" I joked.

"Trust me. You won't need one." she said. "Alright. Suit up. I wanna see how you look."

"Alright."

Before I could put on the real suit, I had to put on the under suit. Next came the chest armor which felt like it sealed to the under suit, fitting seamlessly over my body. The pants easily slid over my legs creating a seamless look with the upper body, but that was covered up by the utility belt. After that I had to put on the boots and gauntlets, and lastly the cape and cowl.

"So, what do you think?" I asked spinning around.

"Selina. You look amazing!" she exclaimed. "But how does it fit?"

"Perfect."

"Good. 'Cause tonight you're gonna meet Mayor Gordon. You know, introduce him to Gotham's new bat." Barbara looked like she was about to jump out of her wheelchair.

The sun set and darkness shrouded the city. What Gotham is famous for, everyone comes out to play when the sun sets. I suited up and jumped in my Batmobile. _**I can't believe it. I'm actually the Bat. I am Batwoman.**_ The tunnel opened up in front of me. I pushed the ignition and pulled forward.

Out in the city, it had already started raining. Just perfect. My first night out on the job and Mother Nature is already saying "Screw you!". I wouldn't let it bother me though. I had to give a good first impression to the former Commissioner or risk being hunted by the police and criminals alike.

"Selina, when you get to city hall push the button on your neck. It will activate the voice changer." Barbara said into my earpiece.

"Got it, boss." I responded.

" _Destination marked on GPS. ETA five minutes"_ the batcomputer informed.

I rolled up to city hall about to walk into what is probably one of the most important moment in my career as the new Batwoman. I'm not nervous or anything, but this _is_ a pivotal moment. Grabbing the grapple gun attached to my belt, I took a big breath and grappled up to the roof of City Hall. Mayor Gordon was already there waiting on me.

"Good evening Mister Mayor." I said.

"Evening." he replied. "So what's this about? You starting a 'Batman appreciation club'?"

"No, sir. Mr. Wayne has picked me to be his successor. I came here to meet you and inform you of what I'll be doing from here on out."

"Hmm… another costumed vigilante running around Gotham?" he paused. I held my breath, waiting for his response. "Actually, there has been a recent spring in crime. Having someone out there on the streets doing what the police can't might be beneficial."

"So I have you on my side? You aren't going to sick the police on me are you?" I asked. Not sure if it was for my well-being or the police's.

"For now. However, I reserve my right to change my opinion on you in the future, Batwoman." he extended his hand and shook it. "Now since you're here. I have something for you. Stop by the GCPD headquarters, you'll find it there. I'll inform Commissioner Cash that you'll be arriving."

"I'll see what I can do." I turned away to jump into the car, but Barbara's voice in my ear stopped me.

" _Selina, don't forget to give the communicator."_

"Oh, I almost forgot." I pulled out the phone-like device. "Use this if you need to contact me, no more silly symbols in the sky."

I leaped off the roof into the Batmobile waiting below me. "Batcomputer. Set GPS for the GCPD station."

" _Receiving coordinates. Destination marked. ETA three minutes."_

"Alright. Time to go save the city." I said to myself.

Barbara told me that she had already informed the new Police Commissioner, Aaron Cash, that I was going to be showing up. I remember Aaron. He was always a nice guy, even after Croc ate his hand off. Figure that'd piss a guy off enough to make him bitter all the time. He and Batman also always had a good working relationship; hopefully he'll be willing to work with me too.

The large door that led down to the maximum security area of the station opened up in front of me. I then had to navigate the parking garage-like structure underneath the police station in order to reach Cash and the rest of the station.

I reached the bottom and hopped out of the Batmobile. The two guards seemed confused when they saw me.

"Officers." I nodded to them and walked through the doors.

"Another one?" I heard one of them ask.

Cash was waiting at the front desk next to the large monitor on the wall. "Batwoman. Glad you could make it. Mayor Gordon told me you were coming and said to prepare this case we've been investigating."

"Happy to be working with you. So what've you got?" I shifted my weight to one hip.

"Lazlo Valentin AKA Professor Pyg. Recently broke out of jail and is up to his antics again. Five people have gone missing, and two mutilated bodies found at the sides of roads. CSI confirms they're two of the missing persons. We need to find him before anymore people get hurt." he informed me.

This Professor Pyg guy sounded pretty messed up. "I'll see what I can do, Commissioner."

 ***** Yes Robin (now Red Robin) did start a team of heroes. No, they're not the **TEEN** Titans as Tim is a little older than your average teenager, but he does have a team with a similar name. They probably won't do anything in this story, just thought I'd give a reason for Tim not becoming the new Batman.

 **A/N: Ooooh! Ending on cliffhangers already, are we? I know, I know. Don't hate me. It's not like I ran out of ideas, just this chapter was getting a little long, so I need to pause and take a break. The next chapter will pick up right here, and be Selina's first fight as Batwoman against the dastardly Professor Pyg! Anyways, take care and stay tuned for Chapter 3.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"Selina, if we're going to find Professor Pyg, we need find clues. I've sent over the coordinates of his last three abductions. Go and see if you can find anything." Barbara said into my communicator.

"On my way." I replied.

The first location was on Founders Island not far from the Cobblepot's old manor. I arrived at the scene and Barbara spoke into my ear.

"Alright. I've patched into your cowl. I have the ability to see things you can't. Anything that looks like it might help us out will show up as a highlighted signature on my screen and augmented reality mark will pop up in front of you."

"This is so cool!" I said, not hiding my excitement. A mark popped up by a support column on the doorstep of the old mansion. "Wait. Something's over there."

I approached the steps and found the mark. A piece of gauze. "Barbara. I found this piece of gauze. Scanning. The cowl has picked a trace of DNA. Sending over to you for further analysis."

"Ugh. The DNA is heavily corrupted. No discernable match in the Batcomputer's files. See if you can find anything else." she said.

I continued scanning the area. On the path leading up to the stairs was a streak of blood. Looks like someone put up a fight. "Barbara. Found some blood. The cowl determines that it's been here for a couple of days. See if you can find who it belongs to."

"Alright, the Batcomputer has found a match. Li Cho min. She ran away from home when she was 15 and has been out of contact of her family ever since. Records show that she's had a problem with alcohol for a while. And heavy drug abuse. She went missing three nights ago and police have found no leads." she paused. "Selina. See if you can find anymore blood traces and follow them. If there's any chance that she's alive we have to take it."

"I'll see what I can do."

I hopped into the Batmobile and activated Stalker Mode. "Computer, scan for anymore traces of this blood sample."

"Scanning. Traces found and marked on Batmobile monitor."

The trail lead me to an old beauty shop a couple blocks away. "Well I see Pyg doesn't like working out his comfort zone. Before he was originally captured, he was keeping his victims in a beauty shop he owned called "Pretty Dolls Parlor"." Barbara paused. "Selina we have to stop him. He did unthinkable things to those people."

"Don't worry. I'll put a stop to Pyg and make sure he never hurts anyone again." Hopefully.

I proceeded into the beauty shop. It wasn't a place I would go have my hair done and that's all I'll say. The lights were off except for one that was constantly blinking in an irregular pattern. It was honestly quite eerie walking through this place, but I saw no signs of anyone being here.

"Oracle there's no one here. Maybe there a was a mistake? Can you rerun the scan?" I said into the communicator.

"I can to double check but I'm fairly certain we're in the right place." She replied.

Just then I heard something faintly in the distance. "Wait. I heard something."

"I'll see if I can amplify it. Gimme a sec." I waited. "Selina… it's opera music. Go! He's here!"

That was all I needed to hear. I sprinted toward the direction of the music, not even worrying about stealth anymore. The way Barb was talking about this guy time seemed of the essence.

I reached a set of stairs and saw a door at the bottom. At this point it was so dark and I couldn't even see my hands in front of me anymore. The opera music was louder than ever and it sent chills down my spine. Hearing such peaceful music in the pitch black was more terrifying than I imagined. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone singing along so off key that it didn't even exist.

"Selina, I'm picking up multiple life signals. None are heavily armed; this should be easy." Barbara came in over the comms.

"Wish me luck." I replied.

I opened the door and was horrified at what I saw. There was a grotesque looking man operating on an unconscious body in the center of a large circular room. Hanging from the ceiling were large cages with people in them. They looked terrified. One of them saw me and I put a finger up to my mouth. The man didn't know I was here and I wanted to keep it that way.

"We can do this one of two ways, Selina. We can try to get the rest of these people out before engaging Pyg, or we can take care of him first and let the others go after. Your choice." Barbara said.

"Let's get these people to safety first before worrying about him." I whispered. " Scan that cage for any signs of booby traps."

"They're clear. If you can slice the lock, you should be able to get everyone out without causing too much noise."

"Copy that." With that I sprang into action.

I used the bat grapple to attach myself to the ceiling, and while I was hanging I used the micro laser cutter to slice open the lock on the door. When it was open, I grabbed the man and dropped to the floor.

"You're safe. Go, quietly, and when you get outside contact the GCPD and tell them where I am." The man nodded and ran for the door.

I got two more people out and to safety, just one more to go and then Pyg was going down. I leaped to her cage and started slicing the lock. After the door was open, I grabbed the woman, but as she stepped into my grasp she slipped and I quickly dropped down into the cage to catch her. Before I could even process what happened, the chain that was holding the cage snapped and we went plummeting to the ground. I wrapped myself around the woman and braced for impact.

We landed but my armor absorbed most of the impact. The woman was safe too although that feeling subsided quickly because Pyg was staring right at us. I felt my heart drop as he stared at me with those cold eyes. His steely expression had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

"Why you let Pyg's patients go?" he snorted.

"I can't let you keep hurting these people, Pyg. Operation's over." I bit back as I stood up.

He squealed like a pig, "No no no no! Pyg not hurt! Pyg make better! Pyg make perfect. Pyg will make you perfect too!"

He stepped back and group of people stood behind him with their faces wrapped in bandages. They all wore the same hospital gown. There was no difference in their appearances, no discernable gender, and they all had the same haunting moan.

"You monster! What have you done to these people?" I asked, horrified.

"Pyg's dollotrons are perfect. Just like mother wanted. Now Pyg make you perfect!" And with that those "dollotrons" ran at me like a mob.

They started to surround me, so I took out my whip and cracked it around me to try and confuse them. With an opening, I extended my claws and went to work. Punch after punch I started thinning the crowd. One tried to grab me from behind, so I jumped on its back and kicked it into another one. However, I noticed that these things weren't staying down for long. They got back up as if they couldn't feel a thing I was doing to them. They backed my up to the wall. There was electrical breaker right next to me, and as a dollotron ran up to me I slammed it right into the breaker; it stayed down after that.

"Oracle, these things won't stay down!" I said as I punched, scratched, and kicked my way to safety. "Although after I slammed one into a breaker box, it stayed down. Any tricks in this suit I should know about?"

"Let me run the schematics real qui-" she was interrupted.

"Good evening, ladies. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Lucious came into the comms. "If electric shocks seem to be the solution, try rubbing your hands and punching them together. It should activate the taser gloves. Also, any batarangs you throw will be charged with electricity too. A well placed strike to the chest or back should incapacitate them for long enough to deal with Pyg."

"Thanks, Lucious." Barbara and I said at the same time. I rubbed my hands together and punched them into each other and my gloves started crackling with electricity.

I gave a dollotron a punch to the chest and it fell over almost instantly, and it didn't get back up. "I like these." I said as I threw out a few batarangs. They hit three of the dollotrons and knocked them to the ground. A dollotron came up behind me and wrapped its arms around me, trying to hold me in place. I grabbed one of its arms and flipped it over my back, giving it a punch in the chest.

With all of the dollotrons defeated, Pyg looked up at me. He squealed, "What? How you stop Pyg's dollotrons? Mother will be very upset. Pyg will fix you for mother!" He threw a knife at me. I leaned to the side and shot my bat grapple at the wall behind him. As it pulled me toward him, I extended both of my feet and gave him a hefty kick into the wall.

"Mother will have to wait." I said as the GCPD entered the room. I approached Commissioner Cash, "Professor Pyg is ready for detainment, Commissioner. Unfortunately, Li Cho min didn't make it."

"Thanks, Batwoman. We'll take Pyg down to the GCPD station and alert the Cho min family. You did a lot of good here." he started to walk away, "Oh! My guys down at the weather station said they picked up some seismic activity underneath Gotham. It's minor right now, but they said they'll continue to monitor it. I'll let you know when I have more details."

"I appreciate the heads up. I'll let Oracle know so she can monitor it as well." I replied. "You catch that?" I said into my earpiece.

"Yeah. I'll see what I can find. I'll keep you posted." she responded.

"Thanks. I think I'm going to catch some

Z's."

"I think we all could." she paused, "Selina, you did great tonight. Sometimes one life has to be sacrificed to save multiple. Don't beat yourself up about it… please?"

I arrived at my apartment exhausted. I took off my suit and sat on the couch when Diablo nestled up to me. He purred as he beckoned for me to pet him.

"Did you miss me, D? You're gonna have to get used to it, this is Mommy's new job." I looked over at my catsuit. "I may be able to actually help people who need it."

My phone started ringing. Barbara. "Hey, Barb. Find anything?" I asked.

"Yeah, actually. Look at the files I sent you. The first one is of an earthquake that struck Gotham a couple of years ago. The second is a map of the seismic activity that was recently charted. Notice the difference in how they travel?" she sounded a little too excited about this.

"Uh huh. So what does it mean?"

"Well earthquakes, like the one in file A, travel in what are called P waves and S waves which almost look like ripples across the ground. But look at file B, see how the waves travel almost like a root system?"

"So we're not dealing with an earthquake that would kill us all?"

"I don't think so. I think this originates from a plant. So I did some some digging, and look at this." a new file appeared on my phone.

"The tree in the Miagani Botanical Gardens?" I thought for a second. "Wait… the only reason the tree would be acting like this is because of… Ivy?"

"Correct. I think Poison Ivy is somehow able to use the plants to revive herself." she paused. "Selina, if Ivy comes back we might be in trouble."

"Keep looking into it. I want to know if Ivy resurfaces. And Barb, don't leak this yet. I know she's done bad things, but Ivy's friend. Maybe I can talk some sense into her." I pleaded.

"We're a team. Don't worry; you'll be the first to know if she comes back."

"Thanks, girl."

I wasn't able to get much sleep thinking about how Ivy might come back.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **A/N: I know it's been some time since I've uploaded a new chapter to this story, but I have been super busy with finishing senior of high school and preparing for college in August. So because some of you have been waiting for the new chapter I will uploading Chapter 4 and 5 within a couple days of each other. Hopefully I can get a schedule to post new chapters. Anyway, I've rambled on for too long. Enjoy the chapter!**

I woke up earlier than expected. Surprising considering how I was thinking about Ivy all night. I mean does _anyone_ stay in dead in Gotham anymore? Whatever. Now wasn't the time to think about that. It was time for coffee. While I was brewing my morning kick starter, my phone rang.

"Hey, Babs. What's up?" I asked with a yawn.

"Selina you need to get to Dixon Dock West right now. Commissioner Cash is waiting. He'll fill you in on the details." She responded rather hastily.

"On my way." I said already suiting up.

It took only a few minutes to get to the docks and as I arrived on the scene, there was a heavy police presence. Commissioner Cash met me as I got out of the Batmobile.

"Batwoman! Good to have you here; you gotta see this." He led me to the warehouse on the docks, "Oh, be sure to keep down your breakfast." He opened the door and revealed a room full of bloodied bodies.

"What the hell happened here?" I asked as I surveyed the room. I noticed a white rose on one of the men's lapels. "Wait. These are Falcone's men. Who would go after the Falcones?"

"Detectives seem to think it's Maroni, but this doesn't seem sophisticated enough to be a mob hit."

"You're right, Commissioner. Maroni wouldn't leave such a mess. Someone is trying to send a message." I examined a body closer. A bullet was lodged in the guy's head. "Oracle. Run ballistics on this bullet. Maybe it can lead us to the person responsible for this."

"Before I forget. There's a survivor over with the EMTs. Maybe he has some answers." Cash said.

I walked over to the survivor who was sitting on a gurney while an EMT tended to his gunshot wound.

"What happened here?" I asked rather matter-of-factly.

"He came out of nowhere! And then he slaughtered us all! I'm lucky to be alive." The man shakily screamed .

"One person did all this? What did he look like?"

"I- I don't know. All I saw was… red. Th- that's all I remember."

"Get him to hospital and have police question him when you arrive. Cash, see if we can get IDs on these men. Maybe some of them have personal grudges someone was coming to settle." I jumped in the Batmobile, "Barbara, did you find anything on that bullet?"

"Yeah, it's a .50 Action Express handgun round. There's only a few handguns that can chamber this round. I'll run the math and try to see if I can figure out which one it is." She replied.

"Do you know the current location of Falcone?"

"Last I heard, he's hold up somewhere in Blüdhaven. Nightwing's there now; I'll send out a BOLO for him."

"Tell him to contact me as soon as he finds something."

"I got something on the bullet. It was fired from a Magnum Research, Inc. Desert Eagle XIX. Now for the weird part, this is the same round that the Arkham Knight's sidearm carried. Last we heard of him was after he helped Batman defeat Scarecrow eight months ago. The same bullet was also found at a warehouse owned by Roman Sionis, or Black Mask, whichever you prefer."

"Good work, Barb. Give me the location on Black Mask. Maybe he knows where our mystery man is."

"Well, the Gotham General Morgue is where you'll find him."

"What?" I asked, rather surprised.

"Black Mask is dead, Selina."

"Dammit. I'll head to the morgue and see what the coroner can tell me. Make sure Nightwing contacts me about Falcone ASAP."

I headed toward the morgue with the intent of finding out who was going after my father.* Even though he's never been there me, family is family. A call was patched into my coms.

"Go for Batwoman." I said.

"Oracle, is this channel secure?" I heard Nightwing ask.

"It is. No way anyone can hack us." She replied.

"Selina- can I call you Selina- Batwoman I have a lead on Falcone. Give me the go and I'll bring him i-" I cut him off.

"No. Just keep eyes on him. Someone's after him. I want to know who it is." I said.

"Y'know, you kind of sound like him. I'll keep in touch. Nightwing out."

"I've let the coroner know you're on the way." Barbara said.

I arrived at the coroner's office a quarter past nine. I made my way into the building and found the coroner: a stout man of possibly Jewish descent. He was sitting at his computer looking at a file of some kind with a Solitaire tab opened above it.

"Doctor." I said.

"Gimme a minute," he said in a heavy northern accent as he turned around. "Oh! It's you. What can I help you with- uh… Batwoman?"

"I need information. What do you have on you about Roman Sionis?"

"Black Mask? Brother, no one ain't asked about him for a few months." He mashed some keys on his keyboard. "All I got is his file; corpse was cremated shortly after he arrived here."

"Anything else? Maybe pictures or something of the body?"

"Yeah. I can get those for you. I uh, I also have the files of all his men that were found that night."

"Thank you, doctor." I said as I inserted a jump drive into his computer.

"So, uh- You the new 'protector of Gotham'?" he asked in an unenthused voice. I nodded. "Any chance I could know whose hands my life are in?"

I shook my head and retrieved the flash drive. "Thanks for the help, doc."

I arrived at the docks to review the evidence from the coroner's. "Batcave, open."

"Voice confirmed: Welcome, Batwoman." The synthesized female voice responded.

"Honey! I'm home!" I shouted into the warehouse.

"Oh! How was work, darling?" Barbara said as she wheeled up to me.

"I come bearing gifts." I flashed the flash drive.

Barbara plugged the device into the Batcomputer and began sifting through the files.

"Okay, we have the data on all the recovered bodies from Black Mask's warehouse. Bullets found at scene do match the rounds we found earlier. However, Black Mask has a lot of blunt trauma wounds, and was found outside below a broken window three stories up. Usually that's not enough to kill someone, but there's probably some internal injuries that ultimately led to death." Barbara informed.

"Do we any video feeds from that night?" I asked.

"I'll check CCTV. The Batcomputer should have archived any recorded footage in the surrounding area." She searched through more files. "Here we are."

On the screen popped up security camera feeds from that night. Definitely Black Mask's warehouse. Barbara found a camera looking over Black Mask's office. We could see Black Mask with his back to the large, round window and another figure in front of him. It looked like some words were spoken, and then Black Mask was flying out of the window.

"Pause." I told Barbara. "Who is that?"

A person wearing a white jacket with a red hood and some sort of tactical gear was standing in the window. They had a red visor covering their face and what looked to be crudely drawn red bat on their chest.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"I have no idea. Nobody in the records matches this look. CCTV records say this was recorded about a month after Scarecrow was defeated and Arkham Knight disappeared." Barbara responded.

"Then this can't be a coincidence. Cross reference the similarities between Falcone's men and Black Mask's mens' deaths. Maybe we can find out who this is." I started sifting through the evidence we had on Black Mask. "Wait, it says here that for proper cremation that the wooden mask was taken off."

"I thought Black Mask wore a leather mask?" Barbara inquired. "And wasn't burned to his face?"

"You're right. Roman is known to use body doubles." I said as I headed to the Batmobile.

"Where are you going?" Barbara asked.

"Catwoman has to set up a meeting with Black Mask." I said as the Batmobile cockpit closed over me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I arrived back at my apartment around two in the afternoon and climbed up the fire escape into my room. Diablo greeted me purr as I filled up his food bowl. I thought about how I might set up a meeting with Black Mask, assuming he's still alive. He and Cobblepot have a pretty good working relationship, so that might be my ticket to Black Mask. I opened my closet and stared at my cat suit.

"I guess I'm really doing this." I told Diablo. His meow was muffled by food. I called Barbara. "Hey, girl. I need you to give me the location of Penguin."

"Um… My latest intel shows he's working out of the Founder's Island port." She informed.

"Thanks. I'll keep you posted." I said as I grabbed my whip.

I climbed out of my window and onto the roof of my complex. It was a nice summer day in Gotham. For once it wasn't raining. I made my way to Founder's Island and found the port, and sure enough, there was a couple of Penguin's thugs guarding the area. I walked to the guys with a certain sass in my step.

"Stop it right there, Catwoman." one of the guys said.

"Now, now boys... Is that any way to treat a lady?" I purred. "I just want to talk to your boss."

"Go let Penguin know she's here." he said to the other guy.

"So... You boys heard about that Bat that's roaming around Gotham?" I asked.

"You mean that scientist that injected bat DNA into himself? Yeah."

"No, I mean Batman has a new partner or something. A woman dressed in a bat suit is finishing his job of cleaning up crime."

"Oh! Nah, we ain't heard nothin' about that."

"The boss says let her in." the other guy came back.

"Stay safe out there, boys" I said as I sashayed away.

I made my way to the manager's office where I assumed Penguin would be waiting for tonight. I entered the office and saw Penguin sitting at the desk.

"Catwoman! What an unpleasant surprise!" he said in his usual fake British accent.

"Hey, Oz. How ya' been?" I replied.

"Better since I got out of that pig-infested Hell hole. Now what do you need?"

"I need you to set up a meeting with Black Mask for me. Can you do that for me, Oswald?" I ran my finger under his chin.

"I knew that sonuvabitch wasn't dead! What's in it for me?"

"I'll make sure the big, bad Bat doesn't give you a beating?"

"There isn't a Batman anymore, Catwoman! I'll need somethin' else!"

"I didn't say Bat _man_ , did I?" I shifted my weight to one hip.

"Fine… Deal!" he extended a hand.

I shook it, "Pleasure doing business with you, Oz. You know how to contact me."

I got outside and onto the roof. I contacted Barbara.

"Selina? How'd it go?" she asked.

"Penguin's setting up a meeting with Black Mask for me." I replied.

"Good. Hey, I've been looking at the readings coming from the Botanical Gardens and they're getting stronger."

"I'll go check it out."

"Before you do, come back to the cave. I have something for you." Barbara said before cutting communications.

I made my way back to the docks wondering what Barbara had waiting for me. I let the Batcave know I was there and it let me. I made my downstairs into the darkness.

"Hey, girl. Quick over here!" Barbara beckoned to me.

"So what do have for me?" I asked.

"Check this out." Barbara pushed a button on her tablet and the floor opened in front of us. A black motorcycle rose up on a rotating platform. "I realized that the Batmobile was a little too conspicuous for doing work in the day time, so I asked Lucius to hook us up with the latest in cutting edge motorcycle tech."

"Holy-" I started.

"Hold all comments until the end of the presentation, please. This bike is a concept WayneTech Scorpion 8300. This beast of a motorcycle has a top speed of over 250 miles per hour with 500 horsepower. Basically, it's fast. The fastest, in fact. And you are the only owner."

"Oh my God! Barbara it's amazing!" I was speechless. "Is ready to be used?"

"It sure is!" she responded.

I'd always had a thing with motorcycles. There was something about them that felt… personal. Like they were an extension of your self. And the thrill of sitting on top of so much power? Unmatched. Nothing made me feel as powerful as I did when I straddled that bike. The speed. The power. The sexiness. And this motorcycle was no exception.

I got on and leaned into the contour of the body. The way it molded to my form, it's almost like the bike was custom fitted for me. I cranked it up and felt that raw power vibrate up through my legs into my spine then to my chest. The way it purred… this bike was a masterpiece. Barbara opened the bay doors and I sped off into the night. The sun was just starting to set in Gotham, so most of the commuters were off the roads, giving me free reign of the place. I raced off toward Miagani Island to investigate the Botanical Gardens. I powered through corners as if they were nothing. The best part though: riding across Mercy Bridge. I had to of reached 300 mph at least. If my cat cap hadn't been covering my head, I'm sure my hair would been flowing wildly.

I was almost to the Botanical Gardens when I received a message: Oswald. _"Dixon Dock West. 15 minutes."_

I called Barbara, "Barbara, I need the Batsuit dropped off at Panessa. I'll be there in 5 minutes."

"Copy that. Did you check out the Botanical Gardens?" she asked.

"Something else came up. Don't have time."

"Alright, suit's en route to Panessa Studios; ETA 3 minutes."

I busted a U-turn and sped off toward Bleake Island. I could see Panessa Studios in the distance when I got a call from Barbara.

"Selina, someone's tracking your movements. I can't find a lock on their signal." She said.

I look around me but there no signs of anyone, "I don't see anyone. My window's closing with Black Mask; I can't stop now."

"I'll try to figure this out. In the meantime, stay safe."

I arrived at the movie studios and found the Batsuit on the roof. I changed suits and headed toward Dixon Dock West. When I got there I saw a group of Black Mask's men and what looked to be another body double. As I walked up, the guards pointed there guns at me.

"Don't move or we shoot!" one of the guys said in a brutish voice.

"Well, you're not Catwoman." The fake Black mask said.

"She couldn't make it. Told to me to fill in for her." I responded.

"Unfortunately, I'm not here to talk to impersonator's of someone long dead."

"Ironic, coming from the phony Black Mask." I grabbed my whip and snatched the gun from one of the guard's hands.

I leaped toward him with a kick as I used my whip to rip the gun away from the other guy. Two more came from behind me and I threw some batarangs at them. I jumped on the guy's back in front of me and delivered a kick with both feet to his back sending him careening into his friends. I axe kicked one of the guys on the ground and punched the other one in his face. With only the Black Mask fake left, I moved to interrogate him.

"You ready to talk now?" I growled.

"Talk to this, bitch!" he said reaching for a pistol.

I slapped it out of his grip and punched the wall behind him. "Talk, or I start breaking bones! Where's Black Mask?"

"Oh God! He's at his old factory! Please don't hurt me!" he cried.

"Where's the factory?" I grabbed his hand and started bending it backwards.

"Ack! Ar- Arkham City!"

Unbelievable… of all places, Black Mask went back to that Hell hole?

"Who the hell are you anyway?" the guy cried.

"I'm Batwoman." I responded as I punched his face. "Oracle. I've got a lead on Black Mask."

"Good! Where is he?" she asked.

"Arkham City." I sighed.

"You're kidding, right? How is that possible?"

"I guess since it's been shut down, it's as easy as ever to break into."

"I'll prep the Batwing. Bruce always kept a spare. Or you could use the Batboat and be more discreet."

"I'll take the boat. Did you ever figure out who was tracking me?"

"Negative. I'll keep working and notify you if I find anything."

"Alright, let's get to work." I said making my back to my bike.

 **A/N: This is a long one so strap in! Okay so this chapter took a while to get written because my computer has started crapping out on me :(, so I've switched to my phone for the time being. Anyway, next Selina will go back to Arkham City for the first time in over a year in search of Black Mask. [SPOILERS AHEAD; Skip brackets for no spoilers: Also, Red Hood will make his first physical appearance and will remain a secondary character for the remainder of the fic.] Next, even though this is titled BATMAN: Arkham Rebirth, Batman will not be appearing any time soon. I put it under this title because I didn't feel like an Arkham universe sequel didn't warrant a title change (Also, I didn't think Batwoman: Arkham Rebirth wouldn't get the reads lol). Next, these chapters take me a while to write because I'm kind of making it up as I go along (it just makes the plot feel more natural to me) I have the ending planned out, I just have to provide all the filler. Finally, I have a question for you dear readers (all 2 of you :P): right now I'm averaging 1400- 1500 words a chapter (I think), so I was wondering if you guys want longer chapters so I don't have so many cliffhangers, or do you want me to keep my formula the same? I can try to shoot for maybe 2 or 3k words, but it might take me longer to get the chapters out. I would like to know what you guys think. Anyway, I hope enjoyed the chapter and hope you'll stay tuned for the next!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I mounted my bike and headed off toward the Batcave under the shipping yards. Arkham City... I haven't been anywhere near that place in over a year. I never planned on returning. Hell, I even thought about letting Bruce die just so I could escape, but my moral compass told me that I should save Batman so he could save us all. And now I was going back. I got a call from Barbara.

"Selina, I'm still getting a reading that someone is tracking you. I can't find them though. They're really putting my hacker skills through the ringer." She said.

"Keep working on it. I'm sure you'll find whoever this is. I'm almost to the Batcave. Send the boat out into the water so we don't give away your location." I told her.

"Copy that."

I arrived at the docks and got into the boat. I started it up and sped off into the water. This was going to be a boring ride. I surveyed my surrounding and saw another boat in the distance behind me.

"Oracle, I think I found who's been tracking me. They're following me to Arkham City. It's probably some more of Black Mask's guys." I said.

"I read you. They're keeping their distance. Just be careful." Barbara said.

After about ten minutes on the water I reached a docking station at Arkham City. I stepped onto the all too familiar ground of my previous prison and made my way up to street level. I was near the old GCPD building, and even though it was in the middle of summer, it was still freezing from when Mr. Freeze had occupied this place. I grappled up to one of the gargoyles and surveyed the area. It seemed as though all the bodies from Protocol 10 had been cleaned up, but the smell of death still lingered in the air.

During my stay in Arkham City, Joker had turned the old Sionis Steel Mill into "Joker's Fun House" filled with all sorts of death traps and lunatics. I guess Roman figured no one would come looking for him in an abandoned steel mill. I looked around me again and saw no one, so I started toward the Steel Mill. I took my time walking through the streets of what was previously North Gotham before it was turned into a war zone for super criminals. It was ironic that Black Mask went back there because he was the first and only inmate to escape Arkham City.

I checked my corners even though I doubted anyone else would be there, but I couldn't have been sure. I arrived at Amusement Mile when I heard someone jump down behind me. I couldn't even turn around before something struck me in the back of my head. I fell to the ground and my vision blurred. As I looked up I saw a figure crouching above me. It was him. The guy that attacked Black Mask's warehouse.

"I should thank you. Finding Black Mask is a lot easier when someone else does all the work." A boot stomped on my face.

"Selina! Selina do you read me?" Barbara's voice faded into my head.

"Yeah. Yeah, I read you." I groaned.

"What the hell happened to you? You've been out for five minutes."

"The guy… from the- the warehouse… he- he jumped me." I could taste the blood on my lip.

"Vitals say you took a couple big blows to the head. You might have a concussion." Barbara's voice faded in and out.

"I- I… have to f- find… Black Ma- M- Mask." I tried to get to my feet, but it was hard. My legs felt like jelly.

"Selina, you need medical attention. Your suit can protect you, but you're not invincible."

"No… I'm- I'm Batwoman." I said as I stood up. I found my balance, but my head was still ringing.

"Selina, please…" she pleaded.

"After I stop this guy."

I started a slow sprint toward the steel mill. My only hope was my attacker didn't get to Black Mask before I did. I got to the entrance of the steel mill. Where I'm sure guards were standing at some point was a pile of bodies.

Barbara sighed. "Black Mask's men they're-"

"Dead. All of them." I cut her off.

I followed the trail of bodies into the mill. The brutality was gut wrenching. Bullet holes littered the men's bodies. Some were even missing parts of their limbs. I heard gunshots in the distance and clumsily ran toward them. I heard screams and groans of men who had surely seen the end of their life. Soon, I was beneath the manager's office. I could hear muffled talking, so I grappled up to into the office.

"… and here I was thinking I had finally killed you. Just another body double." My assailant said.

"Please! I'll leave Gotham forever! I promise!" Black Mask pleaded. The real one this time.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance." I threw a batarang at his gun, knocking it out of his hand.

"I'm starting to regret not…" he turned around and shot at me. The bullet hit the bat symbol and nearly made me lose my balance. I grabbed my whip and wrapped it around his wrist, pulling him toward me.

I delivered a punch to his mask; not very effective. He punched me in my gut causing me to fold over after which I was met with a knee to the face. I could feel the blood flowing out of my nose. I'd been hit by worse though.

"That all you got, Red Riding Hood?" I spit blood onto the floor and raised my hands. He lunged at me rearing back for a punch. I caught his arm and kicked him in the stomach. He let out a weak grunt as he attempted a left hook. I blocked it with a forearm, but in my weakened state he was too fast. He head-butted me hard enough to knock me backward. The next thing I knew, I was flying out of the manager's office.

My back hit the floor of the loading bay. The armor absorbed most of the impact, but I still felt the pain into my bones. More blood flowed into my mouth. I leaned over and spit it out, and the guy in red jumped down on top of me. I felt the cold barrel of his gun press into my chin.

"This time, I am going to kill you. You hear that Oracle? I'm going to end your little hero show tonight!" he screamed.

I wrapped my legs around his arm and positioned my right shin under his chin. I applied pressure to his throat with my hands by pulling his head down and pushing my right leg up. I goal was to choke him out to give me an opening. He had other plans. He grunted and with his pure strength, lifted me off the ground and slammed my back onto the concrete. The breath was knocked out of my body and my lungs started to burn. I tried to gasp for air so I could speak, but he grabbed my throat.

"That's it. Now I'm really going to kill you." he gritted through his teeth.

"We're... on... the... same... side..." I managed to rasp out.

"No, we're not! I do what you don't have the courage to do!" he shook his head. "When you or Batman or whoever put these criminals in jail, all they do is break out and start killing again. My solution is permanent!"

I formed a fist with my right hand and mustered the strength to uppercut him. My fist collided with his chin and he stumbled backward. His mask flew off his face and I got a glimpse at his face. He was a young man, probably early twenties. Black hair, blue eyes. He wasn't bad looking. Although one thing stood out about his features, on his left was a J. It looked as if it had been burned into his face, like a brand.

Barbara gasped, "Jason?"

"Jason? Who's Jason?" I asked, climbing to my feet.

"Don't say that!" the guy yelled.

I just barely managed to get to my feet when I saw he had his gun raised at me. I quickly threw a batarang at his hand and he dropped the gun. He lunged at me and pushed me into the wall. He buried punches into my abdomen over and over and over again. I folded over and spit out blood. As I laid on the ground gasping for air, he knelt down next to me and said, "Don't get in my way again."

"Selina? Nightwing's on the way to pick you up." Barbara said after about five minutes of me lying on the ground. I was in pain all over, and I still had to spit out blood every now and then. I managed to get to my feet and limped out of the steel mill.

"They both... got away." I mumbled.

"Don't worry. We'll find them both, but for now, you need medical attention. Nightwing will be there soon. I kneeled down in the road.

"I knew... it was a bad... idea coming here." I laughed.

"Need a hand?" Nightwing asked. He extended a hand and helped me to my feet. He shot his batclaw up and we were in the Batwing.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked.

"I got my ass kicked." I replied. "The name Jason mean anything to you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"While we were fighting, I knocked the guy's visor off. Barbara called him Jason."

"That's impossible. Jason's dead. He was the second Robin, the one Joker killed."

Barbara popped up on the screen up front, "Actually Nightwing, Joker didn't kill Jason like we thought he did. Jason was the Arkham Knight. He helped Bruce when Scarecrow took him to Arkham Asylum. He disappeared after that and no one saw or heard from him again."

"Wha- Does Tim know?" Nightwing asked.

"No. Just me, Bruce, and Dad."

"So, that maniac was Robin at one point? Did he have anger issues back then too?" I asked.

"Jason's always had anger issues, but Bruce helped him with that. We all did... After we lost him- thought we lost him, we were devastated. Bruce didn't take on another Robin for months." Nightwing said.

"Dick, the Jason that I saw, and Jason we knew doesn't exist anymore. The Joker... changed him." Barbara tried to comfort Nightwing.

"No... I don't believe that. Jason- he's my brother; I'm going to try and help him. Selina, I'm tagging along with you from now on."

"You're needed in Blüdhaven, though." I said.

"Blüdhaven can wait. I already have BPD keeping tabs on Falcone. I'm going to help Jason."

I sighed, "Okay. We'll try to help your brother."

The Batwing landed on the roof of the shipyards and we were lowered into the building. Nightwing helped me off the plane and guided me to the medical area. Barbara and Nightwing bandaged and stitched whatever needed to be, and pumped me full of pain relievers.

"You need to rest, Selina." Barbara said rather bluntly.

"Yeah, you rest up, and I'll take over until you're back on your feet." Nightwing walked over to the Batcomputer, "So, what were you guys working on?"

I started to get up, but I succumbed to the pain, "Black Mask was the last lead we were following. Of course, he got away, and Jason is still out there looking for him. Trying to finish the job if I were to guess. Luckily, I planted a tracker on him when I was fighting him."

"Send me the coordinates, Babs. I'll find Jason." Nightwing said as he left the shipyard.

 **A/N: As I said in my last chapter, I wanted to try a longer chapter so as to not have too many cliffhangers. With my old formula I probably would have split the Arkham City part into two different chapters, but I put the whole segment into one chapter and ended it on (I think) a more satisfying cliffhanger (if those exist). Speaking of the Arkham City part: what did you think of the fight scene between Selina and Red Hood? Was it too long? Too short? Was it predictable? Did I make Jason kick Selina's ass too hard? I have a lot of questions, and I hope you guys can answer them lol. Nonetheless, I hope the chapter was enjoyable to read. See you for the next one.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

 **A/N: This chapter will be told from Nightwing's POV, since Selina is recovering from her last encounter with Red Hood. Nightwing will confront his long-thought dead step-brother and try to bring him on the right side of things. Will Jason budge? Or will Nightwing have to make him see the light?**

The coordinates of the tracker Selina placed on Jason led me to an old underground building up in Drescher. _I see The Broker is still handing out hideouts to the bad guys,_ I thought. I approached the elevator to take me down to the lair. _Jason, I hope you're willing to talk._

The elevator lowered me down to the basement. When the door opened, I took caution walking out of the elevator, making sure to check my surroundings as I proceeded into the lair. I could hear some machinery in the distance. I stalked forward, hands ready to grab my Escrima Sticks.

As I emerged from the light, I saw who I assumed to be Jason standing with his back to me. He had painted a crude bat symbol on the back of his jacket. His visor was sitting on the table, cracked.

"I knew someone would find this place eventually." he said, not turning around.

I stopped in my tracks, "Who are you?"

"I think you know that, Dick." he turned around. I wasn't sure if he was saying my name, or insulting me.

"Jason... you're really alive." I stepped closer. He lifted a gun.

"Stop right there, _Nightwing_!"

"I'm just here to talk, brother." I raised my hands.

"Don't you dare! You lost the right to call me your brother when you abandoned me!"

"Jason, no one abandoned you. We thought you were dead..."

"How long? How long did it take for you and him to stop looking for me? Huh?" he yelled. I gulped nervously. "ANSWER ME!"

"Two months." I stepped closer again, "Jason, you have to understand... Joker... he showed us your costume. It was bloodied and torn to shreds... We— We had no choice but to belie-" he cut me off.

"Bullshit! You didn't have to believe anything! You chose to..." he lowered his gun. I could see the tears welling in his eyes. "How could you just give up on your brother like that?"

"Jason I— I'm sorry. We shouldn't have given up on you, alright? But it seemed so real..."

"I was kept in a dark, wet room for SIX MONTHS. Trust me, I counted. I waited— waited for Batman or— or you or Gordon— someone... to walk through that door. To rescue me. But every day, it was him— that damn clown. Six months; he tortured me. You see this?" he pointed to his cheek, "This was only two days in. You can imagine how much worse it got."

"Jason—"

"And then I finally escape. I find out that Batman— Bruce, my goddamn father didn't kill that son of a bitch. He just let him get away with torturing me— ME, his son! The worst part though? I find out he'd replaced me... he had the audacity to replace me after only six months..."

I didn't know what to say. I just stood there. I finally thought of what to say, "We didn't want to believe you were dead, Jason. But— but the evidence was all we had to go on, and the evidence pointed to a very strong possibility that you didn't survive your encounter with Joker. Bruce searched for you for those two months, but when your suit showed up in the GCPD's mail, we closed the case. Soon after that, Tim, our newest brother, found out Bruce and I's secret identities. I convinced Bruce that taking Tim under his wing would be good for him. Bruce didn't decide to replace you... I told him to. He was in a dark place, and Tim was a light."

"Damn you. Damn you Richard John Grayson." Jason lunged at me.

I blocked his punch, "Jason, I don't want to fight you."

He threw more punches, "You may not want to, but you have to!"

I ducked under his right hook and tackled him, "Brother, join us! Barbara, Selina, me. Help us fight crime the right way."

He flipped me over and into the workbench, "There is no 'right way' to fight crime. There's only effective and non-effective." I got up and grabbed my escrima sticks. "Every time you lock up a criminal, they get out and kill more people. Every time I kill a criminal, they're done for good. One less piece of scum in the world."

We traded ineffective blows, "You don't get to be judge, jury, and executioner, Jason. Killing people doesn't make you any better than them."

"No... I'm the Red Hood. Although, The Executioner does sound like a cool name." he tried to high kick me, but I blocked it with my forearms.

I kicked him in the gut, and he folded over trying to catch his breath. I brought my elbow down onto the base of his neck causing him to fall over on the ground. I charged up my escrima sticks and pointed it at him while he was down.

"Last chance. I don't want to hurt you, Jason."

"I'm not joining your vigilante fan club, Dick." he threw a device up in the air. It exploded and my vision was soon just a series of white flashes. My ears were ringing with so much intensity I couldn't hear the slightest thing. Next thing I felt was an intense burning in my shoulder. I brought one of my hands up and felt blood pouring out of a gunshot wound. As my vision started to clear, I noticed a ventilation shaft to my right. I threw down a smoke grenade and ran to the vent. I kicked down the grate and grappled up the shaft. When I got to the top, I crawled to exit grate and contacted Barbara.

"Hey, Babs. How steady is your hand?" I grunted. I was holding my hand over my shoulder to keep from bleeding out.

"Dick, I'm married." she laughed.

"I'm serious. He shot me. I'll be back at the cave in a few minutes. Send the Batwing to rendezvous with me."

"Oh my God! Make sure to keep pressure on the wound. Batwing will be there in 2."

"He wasn't too thrilled to see me. I told him the truth, Barbara. That Bruce didn't want to replace him— that I told him to."

"Dick, you can't blame this on yourself. Jason has been through the worst thing imaginable to someone. He's traumatized, angry. He has no one to blame for his actions than himself."

"We gave up on him, Babs. All of us. If only we would have kept looking, maybe we would have found him. Saved him..." the Batwing hovered above me. I grappled up into it and sat in the cockpit seat.

Barbara and I didn't talk anymore on the way back to the cave. I couldn't help but feel responsible for creating this version of Jason. It was me who gave up on him. It was me who told Bruce to get a new Robin. All of this was because of me.

The Batwing landed on the roof of the shipyards, and lowered me into the building. I walked over to the med bay and removed my shirt, "Dammit! This hurts. What kind of bullet is he using?" I winced as Barbara applied alcohol to the wound.

"50 caliber handgun rounds. You're lucky you still have an arm." she replied. "Okay, now be still." she took a pair of tweezers and slowly inserted them into my shoulder. My muscles burned like Hell, and it was made worse by the cold metal. She found the bullet and grabbed it. She took even more care to remove as to not cause any further damage. With the bullet out of my shoulder, she taped a piece of gauze over the wound. Selina limped her way in.

"I take it younger brother wasn't up for a talk?" she asked.

"Far from it." I sighed, "I didn't he'd shoot me."

"Tim's on his way. It seems like you guys need all the help you can get." Barbara chimed in.

"Are you going to tell him?" I asked.

"I don't know, Dick. Tim never knew Jason. He only knew of another Robin before him. He probably thinks they turned out like you. You know? They just went and did their own thing."

"Barbara, he deserves to know. He should have already known."

She sighed, "Okay. I'll tell him, but I want you there when I do."

"What are we going to do about him?" Selina finally said. "I mean with him, and Ivy... we don't have time to deal with both of them. Plus, Black Mask is still out there."

"Wait... did you say Ivy? As in Poison Ivy?" I asked.

"We've been monitoring seismic activity underneath the city at the Miagani Botanical Gardens. The patterns correlate to those of a large root system. We believe Ivy is using nutrients deep beneath the surface to rebuild herself." Barbara responded.

"Does anyone stay dead in Gotham anymore?"

"That's what I said!" Selina laughed.

"So, what? Do you think Ivy's out for revenge or something?" I stood up and put my shirt back on.

"We don't know. CCTV footage around the Botanical Gardens don't show any signs of a living Ivy. So, whatever she's doing; this is only the beginning. Selina was going to investigate the gardens, but she got a lead on Black Mask and here we are." Barbara said, skimming through different files on the Batcomputer.

"You good to go?" I asked Selina.

"I think I can manage." she replied.

"Then let's get to work."

 **A/N: Next chapter will be back to Selina's POV and will pick up where this one left off. Tim will fly back into town from the Big Apple (with a few friends maybe? I don't want to have too many characters this early on, but the final showdown will feature a lot of characters so be prepared for that). See you guys in the next one!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

 **A/N: Well some time has gone by since I last wrote for this story. Writer's Block can be a real pain sometimes... Also, the last author's note is no longer entirely correct. I had planned on Tim (Red Robin) to fly back to Gotham to help Dick and Selina deal with Red Hood, but due to a flight delay, he won't be able to make it in time. In other words: I decided not to include him because my focus for this chapter shifted to the other threat facing Gotham. Anyway, please enjoy chapter 8 of Batman: Arkham Rebirth.**

My body ached tremendously, but I ignored it and finished putting on the rest of my gear. I gave Barbara a thumbs up, and she opened the shutters on the roof. As the engines of the Batwing roared, the large panels that made up the roof of the warehouse opened up to reveal Gotham's night sky. Nightwing and I boarded the large jet and made our way to the cockpit. Nightwing flipped a few switches and the plane whirred to life.

"I didn't know you could fly this thing," I said.

"Bird's gotta know how to fly, right?" He grinned at me.

I stifle a chuckle, "I guess you're right. Tracker says he's near the northern coast of Miagani Island."

Nightwing nods in understanding and silence fills the cockpit for a beat.

"So... You and Barbara?" I finally break it.

"Wha- What about us?" he asks a little flustered.

"I can tell there's some history between you two,"

"Oh... Yeah, we dated for a while, but we had to break things off," his voice grows slightly more distant as he speaks.

"You have commitment issues or something?"

"What?" he lets out a chuckle, "No, it's just that when I moved to Blüdhaven full-time, I wasn't able to be around very often. The whole long-distance thing was futile."

"Ooh, spoken like a true Bat-Boy. 'Being a full-time crime fighter leaves little room for a love life'. I'll tell you right now that if a hot guy were to walk into my apartment tonight, I wouldn't hesitate to have him in my bed, especially not because I'm _Batwoman,_ "

"It's not like that. Barbara _encouraged_ me to go to Blüdhaven. I didn't just leave her,"

"So, if it weren't for you becoming Nightwing, do you think you two had a future together?"

"I'd like to think so," he fiddled with some switches on the console, "What about you? You and Bruce, I mean."

"We had... discussions about it. About us," I leaned back in my seat, "He asked me if he was _really_ the kind of guy I'd like to spend the rest of my life with one day."

"Well, was he?"

"I told him he was _exactly_ the type of guy I'd like to spend the rest of life with, but only if he was ready for that kind of commitment," I reminisced for a second, "You know, we even had discussions about children if we were to have them someday."

"Like you guys picked out baby names? That's cute," he smiled.

"Yeah, if we had a girl, we would name her Helena,"

"And a boy?"

"D—," I was cut off by Barbara.

"I hate to interrupt you guys' conversation, but I'm picking up some major readings from the Botanical Gardens. I think Ivy's coming back sooner than we originally thought," Barbara said.

"Damn! Alright, I'll go check it out. Nightwing and I will rendezvous back at the warehouse," I said.

"Selina, you're in no condition to face Ivy by yourself. I'll come with," Nightwing protested.

"I'll be fine. Ivy's one of my best friends. You just worry about your brother, Nightwing,"

He opened his mouth to argue but decided against it. I gave him a slight nod and jumped onto my motorcycle. He lowered the cargo ramp and I jumped out of the plane. When I landed on the street, I cranked the throttle and rocketed off toward the Botanical Gardens. I only hoped that I would be able to talk some sense into Ivy, for Gotham's sake. I didn't want her to do something she might regret.

"Selina, I know Poison Ivy's your friend, but I strongly advise proceeding with caution when you reach the Gardens. We don't know what her current mental state is like and might perceive any and all _intruders_ as a threat to her well-being... again," Barbara came in over my comms.

"Understood," I said as I pulled back on the throttle more.

I could see the large, glass dome of the Botanical Gardens nearing me as I weaved through the streets of Gotham with the precision of a Formula One car. I was flying down the street so fast the friction from the wind was causing my suit to heat up. It was late enough at night that most of the civilians were at home asleep, but I'm sure the few that were out and about looked at me like I was insane for going this fast.

Over the years, I've grown to know Pamela and I've noticed that the seasons tend to have an effect on her mood. Thankfully it's officially summer, so I'm hoping she's in her happy mood. Although based on the way she went out, I doubt that will be the case, but a girl can dream. Of course, if things go South, I could call up Harley. She and Ivy were always close— _really_ close. I parked my bike and ascended the stairs into Ivy's new... home?

Upon entering the building, I was immediately greeted with the scents of Asters and Dahlias. Possible signs that Ivy was in a good mood? The floor was covered in a thick, but a soft carpet of grass and vines with beautiful flowers snaked up the walls. It almost was like walking into one of Ivy's old shops. I opened the large doors that led to the viewing room, home to one of the biggest trees in Gotham. As soon as I stepped in, a chill went down my spine— she was here.

"Selina... how are you, darling?" Ivy's voice from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

"Hey, Red. It's been a while. Mind coming out and talking?" I swallowed what little sense of fear I had.

"I'm in quite a lot of pain, Sel. Helping Batman deal with Scarecrow and that Arkham Knight character took a lot out me, and my plants,"

"I heard what you did. He won. Scarecrow's locked up,"

"I know... the Green told me. But I'm not done yet. For too long, mankind has destroyed the lives of too many innocent plants. You poison weeds, they become stronger... super-weeds. So, man makes stronger toxins and poisons the world. The cycle of madness never ends, Selina. Not while man still lives on to hurt the Green. You all will fall one day, for I, Poison Ivy, am the protector of the Green," the ground began to shake as she finished speaking, small pebbles fell from the ceiling.

"Selina! I'm detecting strong seismic waves at your location; you need to leave now," Barbara said into my earpiece.

"Love the new suit by the way. I always thought purple was your color,"

"Red, I need you to calm down. I didn't come here to hurt you. I just want to talk," I took on a slightly stronger stance, surveying my surroundings.

"Oh, Selina... You already hurt me!" a large vine shot out of the ground near the base of the tree, "You think I don't know what you did back in Arkham City?"

"Oh, this again? Look, Red: I'm sorry okay? I acted selfishly,"

"YOU KILLED MY BABIES! ROSE, THORN, AND HAZEL, MY BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL BABIES!"

The vine's bud opened to form a large, toothy maw in the shape of a flower. It snapped its mouth open and closed menacingly.

"Ivy... please don't do this. I don't want to fight you,"

"Your blood will coat these walls for what you did to my children, Selina. That was the last straw,"

Before she could act, I threw out three batarangs that exploded against the husk of her vine creature. Using the smoke as cover, I disappeared into the shadows. In her current state of anger, she might leave herself vulnerable attacks because she's not thinking tactically. Her omnipresent voice boomed through the viewing chamber.

"You are in my domain now, Selina. You cannot hide forever,"

"Enough with the theatrics, Red! I just want to talk," I ducked into another corner.

"I am through talking. I've run out of things to say, so now my actions will speak for me!" a large vine creature snaked around the corner, I pressed myself flush against the wall to avoid detection.

"I get that you're hurt, Pam. But I'm your friend! I don't want to fight you,"

I fired my grapple gun to a rafter near the ceiling to get a better view of the room. I quietly pounced from rafter to rafter, taking in my surroundings. I turned on the thermal imaging in my cowl to see if I could find where Ivy was hiding.

"No friend of mine would murder my babies without a second thought!" her vine creature shot its "head" in my direction. I crouched to all fours to make my shape smaller. It seemed to lose interest.

The thermal imaging in my cowl picked up a very hot signature inside of the tree at the center of the room.

"Ivy why don't you come out from there and we can talk face-to-face," I leaped down in front of the tree and put my hands up in a surrendering manner.

She let out a long, dramatic sigh, "As you wish. I will not hesitate to kill you if you piss me off, Selina."

The bark on the tree began to shift and move. After a small rumble, the façade of the tree opened up to reveal Ivy sitting on a makeshift plant chair. She stood up and stretched her limbs. She looked as though she hadn't been in a fight, but the weak steps she took toward me were enough to show that she was still in a lot of pain. Her jade eyes weren't their usual lively selves; instead, they were cold and dull. Her hair wasn't as bright as it usually was either. The beautiful scarlet was replaced with a burnt brown color. I slowly approached her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a deep but gentle hug.

"It's good to see that you're alive, Red. After what happened, I thought the worst had happened,"

"It did," her voice came out weak and hoarse, "Clearing away Scarecrow's toxin took every fiber in my being... literally. But the Green brought me back. It created a new body for me and returned my soul. I'm more plant now than I ever have been,"

"Harley would be glad to know you're alive. She was devastated when she heard what you did. You were the only love she had left in her life after the Joker, you know," I searched Ivy's face for any change in emotion at the mention of Harley's name, but to no avail.

"The Green has made sure Harley knows of my current state," Ivy stepped away from me and stared into my eyes, "Selina, something big is going to happen. I need you to be on the right side of things, or else you might not make it out alive,"

"Ivy... I can't help you destroy all of mankind because you're unhappy with their treatment of nature,"

"I'd figured you would say that... You leave me no choice, Selina," there was an immense amount of sorrow in her voice. Before I could react, a tangle of vines seized my legs and hoisted me into the air so I was hanging in front of Ivy.

"Wow, talk about _déjà vu,_ "

"This is your last chance to make the right choice, Selina. Because in the end, we both know: Nature. Always. Wins,"

Another vine slowly made its way up from the ground, wrapping itself daintily around my neck, "Ivy... please don't do this. There has to be another way I can help you."

The vine snapped itself tightly around my throat, suffocating me, "You will help me by sacrificing yourself for the Green."

As my vision started to blur, I heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air. A small blinking device landed between us. It beeped slowly at first, then started to pick up speed. A bunch of tree roots coiled themselves around the device just enough to absorb most of the explosion, but a bright light filled the space between us. Ivy recoiled and covered her eyes in response, and I used the distraction to quickly cut myself free. I landed on my feet and looked over my shoulder to see Red Hood walking toward us, guns raised.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Little Red Riding Hood. Finally, save grandma from the Big Bad Wolf?" I turned to face him completely.

"Duck," he said.

I did as he said, and he unleashed a barrage of bullets in Ivy's direction. She had recovered at this point and used the tree's roots to put a protective shield in front of her. The bullets' impacts were absorbed by the plants. He continued firing until he ran out of bullets.

"We need to leave. Like right now," I said during the momentary silence.

"You and your sidekick won't be going anywhere!" Ivy's voice returned to the loud, confident one from earlier.

"She seems nice," Red Hood said as he threw down a couple of smoke bombs.

We sprinted to the exit dodging and cutting vines in our way. We busted through the doors where my bike was parked. Jason hopped onto a bike of his own as I straddled mine.

"I see you're a man of style," I revved the engine, "I bet mine's faster."

I rocketed off before he could respond. A couple of seconds later he caught up with me, "You're gonna have to try harder than that to beat me."

"How'd you know where I was anyway?" I asked as we cruised down the street.

"You're not the only one with access to tracking devices," he pointed to his forearm.

I felt around with my other hand and pulled off a small device, "Sneaky. I like it. So, you know where—"

"Yes, I know where your little hideout is. Don't worry, I'm not launching an assault on you or anything. But I know, and knowing is half the battle," I could sense that he winked under his visor, "So, where to now?"

"Follow me," I sped off in the direction of my apartment.

A few minutes later, we arrived at my homestead. We parked our bikes, and I pounced my way up the fire escape to my apartment. I opened the window and climbed in as Red Hood fired his grapple gun up to the window sill. I peeled off my mask and set it on the coffee table and kicked my feet up.

"Why'd you save me anyway? Aren't we like... enemies?" I asked.

He crawled through the window and leaned against the wall, "I'd been following you to see what was so important about the Botanical Gardens. When things started going South, I stepped in. If anyone's going to kill you, it's gonna be me."

"Maybe he _does_ love me!" I placed my hands over my heart and flitted my eyes. He let out a short chuckle.

"Don't get your hopes up."

"Well, you haven't killed me yet, so what's up?"

"I'm tired," he slumped down to the floor, "And I'm out of bullets."

I started to laugh but felt a sharp pain in my neck. I raised my hand and saw blood coating my fingers when I pulled them away, "Dammit! I guess those vines had thorns on them. First Aid kit's in the cabinet there."

Jason got up and retrieved the kit. He sat down on the couch next to me, "Allow me."

He opened up the box full of medical supplies grabbling the alcohol, sutures, and needle. I craned my neck to give him a better view of the wound. He took off his visor and set it next to my cowl. He gently began stitching the wound closed.

"You treat all your victims like this?" I chuckled as he snipped the excess thread.

"I need you healthy for when the time comes," he laughed.

When he turned back to me after putting up the supplies, our faces were inches apart. He wasn't bad on the eyes. Bruce had a knack for adopting sons that grew up to be hot. I felt his breath on my lips. I slowly closed the distance and lightly brushed my lips against his. He softly returned the kiss and I gazed into his eyes when we separated. They glistened like the ocean and I could see the surprise in them.

"I'm... sorry. I got caught up in the moment," I looked down at my lap.

After a beat, he broke the silence, "It's okay. I... enjoyed it,"

He slid a little closer to me and I looked up again. This time his eyes stared back at me with a certain hunger. I closed the distance again, more forcefully this time. His hands slid up along my back until his fingers were wrenched into my hair. I cupped his cheeks with my hands and deepened the kiss. A light moan vibrated in his throat as our lips clasped each other in a fervent display. When we broke apart, he spoke to me out of breath.

"I've never—"

I interrupted him by crashing my lips against his once more. Our tongues danced across each other in slow, sweeping motions. I moved to straddle his lap and my hands ran down his body fiercely. I gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged on it to send him the message. He took off his jacket as I ripped the shirt over his head. In the brief absence of a kiss, I eyed him impishly.

"We can slow down if you want," I leaned in, my lips brushing against his.

"I might not be... good enough. The life I led left little in the way of romance..." there was a certain ashamedness in his eyes.

I responded by slowly grinding my hips against his, "It's been a while for me too."

I bit my lip before slowly pulling off my gloves. I ran my fingers down his bare chest, lightly tracing the lines of his muscles with my nails. His hands were undoing my utility belt as we kissed again. He tugged at the hem of my top before I broke the kiss long enough for him to take it off.

"Wow... you're..."

"Hot? Beautiful? …Sexy? I've heard it all before," I gave him an impish grin.

"Mesmerizing..." he sat up to give me another kiss.

"That's a new one," I pushed him back down and slid my way down to his waist.

I wasted little time pulling his pants off of him. I crawled back up to his lips and captured them. I playfully bit his lip before trailing kisses along his jaw, down his neck. His chest... his abs... _lower_.

"Oooohhhh... Selina..." he arched his back up as he laced his fingers through my hair, holding my head between his legs, "Oh my God!"

His breaths started to get faster, shorter, but I wasn't done with him yet. I stood up and turned my back to him. I traced the line of my pants with my fingers and I felt him stand up behind me. He playfully bit my ear while his hands worked with the clasp of my bra. I turned to face him once more after I stepped out of the tight pants of my suit. I planted another hungry kiss on him, and his hands explored every inch of my body. He licked along my jawline before giving more attention to my neck. His hands trailed lower as his mouth moved to the curve of my breasts. I felt his fingers dance across my skin down to my abdomen... down to the space between my legs.

His hand slipped in between my thighs, and I let a loud moan escape my lips. I started grinding my hips in rhythm with his fingers. Faster and faster until waves of euphoria crashed against my body. He brought his fingers to his mouth and stared at me through devilish eyes. I threw him down on the couch and pounced on him with animalistic ferocity. Our lips slammed against each other with vigor. He gripped me with his strong hands, taking control of the kiss. My hand found its place between his legs to guide him in while I lowered myself down slowly.

I gasped into his mouth, overtaken by the feeling of him. I braced my hands against the back of the couch and started slowly grinding my hips against his. We soon fell into a melodic movement against each other, and we were both gasping expletives as we picked up speed. I grabbed a fistful of his hair, feeling my climax beginning to rise. I breathed hard against his neck and dug my nails into his back. His hands were on my hips now as if he was lifting me up and down onto him.

" _Ohmygod..._ Selina... I'm gonna..." he bucked his hips harder against mine.

I let a moan escape my mouth, "It's okay... me... too..."

The room was soon filled with a cacophony of shouts as we finished together. My body quivered, absorbing every second of pleasure as I pressed my forehead against his to catch my breath. He captured my lips in his in a final, passionate kiss nipping at my lower lip as we separated. I ran my hands up and down his chest, not wanting the moment to be over just yet. I finally dismounted him, laying my head across his stomach while he rested an arm over my chest.

"That was..." he ran his hand through his hair.

"Wow..." I said still panting, "Still want to kill me?"

He laughed, "Jury's still out on that one."

We lay there in sweaty silence before he popped the question I knew was coming.

"Um... are you gonna... because I'm not ready to be a..."

I laughed as I laced my fingers with his, "No. I'm on the pill; things tend to get... messy otherwise."

He heaved a dramatic _whew_ and kissed the back of my hand, "I suppose I should get dressed and get going, huh?"

I got up and walked to my bedroom. I turned to him with a sly grin, "Only if you want to..."

He smiled and walked over to me. I took his hand, leading him to my bed. We climbed in, me resting my back against his chest. He circled an arm around my waist and gently kissed the back of my neck. After a few minutes, we drifted off into a deep, comforting sleep.

 **A/N:** _ **Whew!**_ **Is it hot in here, or is it just me? I realize that ending might be a bit controversial, but it was actually an idea I had when I first thought of this story. Don't worry, Selina and Jason won't be a** _ **thing**_ **per se, and this will probably the only intimate scene they'll share (for the moment anyway** **😉),** **but at this point in the story, the focus will be shifting to Poison Ivy and her plans for Gotham. Selina is going to need allies for the coming fight, and she may have just made a new one. At any rate, I'm glad to be writing for this story again, and I'll be seeing you all again soon. Stay tuned!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

The Sun shone through my closed eyelids, but I tried to ignore it. I noticed Jason's arm wasn't draped over me anymore, so I rolled over to catch a glimpse of him only to find an empty space. _Damn..._ I thought. Begrudgingly, I got out of bed throwing on a tank top and some running shorts. As I entered the living room, I saw the window was opened; however, Jason's clothes from the previous night were still strewn all over my floor. At least he didn't just ditch me after our night together. My phone started vibrating against the coffee table, the caller ID read Barbara.

"Hey, girl. What's up?" I stifled a yawn.

"Oh my! Thank God you're okay! I was calling and texting you all night... what happened? When you didn't come back to the warehouse, I started to get nervous,"

"I'm fine. Just got... sidetracked," I couldn't help but smile when remembering last night, "No need to worry. I'm at my apartment."

"Jeez, give a girl a heads-up next time," I put Barbara on speaker phone as I started to brew some coffee.

"I will, Barbara. Promise," I said. I heard a grunt come from somewhere outside the apartment.

"Well, I guess I should let you know that Dick couldn't find Jason. He says the tracker you planted was just sitting on a random rooftop. He's going to find the Broker in Blüdhaven to see if he can find a lead on Jason's location,"

"I'm sure he's closer than we realize," I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I took the phone off speaker, "I'll call you later, Barb. I'll you know if I find anything out about Jason."

I ended the call and made my way to the window sill, climbing the fire escape up to the roof. Jason was there with his back to me doing handstand push-ups. He wasn't wearing anything except for his boxer briefs. His sweat glistened in the sunlight that was peaking over the edge of the roof.

"Do you always work out half-naked on rooftops in the morning, or is this a special occasion?" I asked.

He pushed himself up one more time and gracefully folded himself over onto his feet. I handed him the water bottle and he smiled, "You don't get a body like this without working out when the time presents itself."

"Uh-huh," I shifted my weight to one hip. Seeing him in the full light, his body was covered in light scars I hadn't noticed before. He was clean-shaven save for a small strip of hair that poked out from his underwear. I took another sip of my joe and eyed him for a beat.

He made his way over to a makeshift training dummy made out of broomsticks and pillows, giving it a few quick punches, "Sorry for leaving without saying anything. You were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you up," he blew a stray strand of hair out of his face.

"Don't sweat. I'm kind of used to the whole 'pump and run' routine at this point,"

"I wouldn't just leave after you invited me to stay," he gave me a wink, "That'd just be rude."

"Heh. Tell that to some of the other creeps in this city..." I sashayed over to him, "Well, now that I know you'll be sticking around. Maybe you could me out with something."

"And what would that be?" he turned to face me placing his hands on my waist.

"Well... I seem to a weed infestation, and I was hoping you could help me fix it," I brushed some loose hair behind his ear.

"Oh. We're in work mode now. I'm sure I might be able to deal with your little plant problem,"

"Then it's a date," I gave a short kiss on the cheek, "Come find me when you're done here, Red Riding Hood."

He turned back to his sparring dummy, "If my memory is any good, I'm pretty sure you were the one doing the riding last night."

I let out a laugh as I descended the fire escape, "Leave the joking to me. You stick to brooding."

After about half an hour, Jason ducked back into my apartment wiping himself down with a towel, "Please tell me this place doesn't have a communal shower. I've had enough of those after boot camp."

I pointed to the door next to my bedroom, "In there."

He opened the door and stood there with his hands on his hips, "Huh... Looks big enough to fit two people don't you think?"

"I thought you didn't like communal showers," I stepped behind him, running my finger along the base of his neck.

"Well, I can make do with _one_ extra person," he turned to face me, "And besides, it could save you some water."

I brought my finger to my lip, "Hmmm... my bill was a _little_ high last month. I guess I can join you out of the interest of saving some cash."

He laughed as he shut the door behind us. The two of us stripped down and stepped into the warm water that was already steaming up the bathroom.

"So... how was I? Last night, I mean," he asked as he applied shampoo to his hair.

"You did fine, Jay," I gave him a quick smile before rinsing my hair, "You sure that was your first time?"

"Cross my heart,"

We stood in a momentary silence as we lathered our bodies with soap.

"You're not looking for a serious relationship or anything, are you? Because I'm perfectly keeping this casual between us," I turned him around to wash his back.

"If that's what you want. We'll be like vigilante friends with benefits?"

"Pretty good benefits if you ask me," I ran my hands down his body again.

A few more minutes passed, and we were both getting dressed in my living room. He threw on his jacket and smoothed back his hair. I hadn't put on my batsuit yet, instead opting for a sleek, black ensemble and tucking my suit in a backpack.

"You hungry? Pauli's has the best waffles in the city. Care to join me?" I asked, zipping up my leather jacket.

"I could eat. I did just work out after all," he said.

"Great! Let's go," I said as I walked out the door.

A few minutes later, we walked into Pauli's and approached the counter.

"Be right with you!" the waitress said while filling up another patron's coffee.

"This place is... cute," Jason said.

"And the food is so good!" I responded.

"Hi! Welcome to Pauli's, how can I help you this morning?" The waitress approached us.

"Can I get an order of chicken and waffles, with a side of scrambled eggs, and a coffee. Sugar no cream, please," I said.

"Alright, and what about you, sugar?" she turned to Jason.

"Uh... I'll just have what she's having," he flashed her a quick smile, "Oh, but can you poach the egg instead of scrambling?"

"Sure thing, hon. We'll get that out for you ASAP," she went and placed our ticket in the window, and came back with a pot of coffee and two mugs. She poured us our drinks and left a few packets of sugar.

A little while later, our food came out of the kitchen, and we started eating.

"Selina," he started speaking in a hushed tone, "Why do you trust me? I— I'm not a good person, so what makes you so quick to trust me? How do you know I won't just kill you when I have the chance?"

"I... don't. I haven't the slightest idea of if you plan to kill me, but I _do_ know that you know Ivy is a huge threat to the city and that you want to protect it as much as I do," I responded.

"But... I'm a murderer. I kill criminals without a second thought. Bat— Bruce would never approve of that kind of justice,"

"I'm not Bruce, Jason. Your methods are... extreme to say the least, but I'm not going to tell you what to do. I believe you have come to terms with your actions. If you decide you don't need to kill to have justice, then that's what you decide. If not: oh well," I took a bite of my eggs.

"O— Okay. So, you're fine with me using any means necessary to stop, that weed infestation?" he spoke in code as the waitress passed us by.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," I smiled at him.

Before Jason could get another word out, a gruff looking man walked into the diner and stepped right up next to me and Jason at the counter. He dinged the bell a couple of times but didn't take a seat. _This should be good._ I thought.

"Hi welcome to Pauli's how can I— Oh! It's you, Cletus," the waitress said, seeming to shrink into her shell a little.

"Damn right it's me! Now where's my money?" he shouted.

"Hey, buddy, I'm trying to eat here," Jason said, not even looking up at the man.

"I don't give a rat's ass what you're doin'. Stay outta this, pretty boy," Cletus returned to shouting at the waitress.

Jason let out an annoyed sigh and stood up, "I'm only gonna tell you this once: Get. Out. Now."

"Yeah? And what are you gonna do if I don't?" he shouted at Jason, who was at least a foot taller than him.

Before Cletus could react, Jason grabbed his coffee mug and splashed the hot liquid in Cletus's face. Cletus screamed in pain and tried to punch Jason, but his fist was caught. Jason kneed the guy in the gut causing him to fold over. Jason slammed his elbow into the base of Cletus's skull, knocking him unconscious. A few more guys in similar attire filed into the bar, angry expressions on their faces.

"Uh, Jay," I said as I stood up next to him, "We got more company."

"The more, the merrier," he took up a fighting stance.

"Hey! Who the fu—" the other man was cut off by a chair cracking against his face.

Jason charged forward, leaping over a table to deliver a powerful punch to the thug's face. I followed suit, pushing a rolling cart full of dishes into a different guy. Soon, punches and kicks were being traded amongst each other. I flipped over a guy's head and kicked him into a nearby table. He slumped to the floor with a groan.

"Selina! Head's up," I heard Jason call out behind me. I turned to see Jason whipping another one of the thugs in my directions.

I jumped and delivered a double spin kick to his chest as Jason delivered a clothesline to the back of his head. We stood back-to-back and the group of thugs circled around us. I gave Jason a smirk over my shoulder as we braced ourselves for the next round of fighting. One of the thugs made the first move, charging haphazardly toward me. I sidestepped him and he ran head first into the wall.

I turned to Jason, "Take my hands and spin!"

He took my hands with a confused look as I got a running start. Jason started spinning on his heels and soon I was swinging through the air kicking the thugs all around us. Jason stopped spinning and gave me an impish grin before he let go of my hand. A thug approached behind with a plate in his hand.

"Duck," I said. Jason did as he was told and I lifted my foot, kicking the thug in the face.

"Jump," he said, still crouched in front of me. I jumped and Jason sprinted underneath me colliding with the thug shoulder first. He picked up the guy with an impressive show of strength and slammed him through a table.

All around us, the guys were writhing and groaning on the floor. I approached the waitress at the counter and wrote down a check to pay for the food and damages. She had a look of both shock and relief on her face. I heard sirens a few blocks away.

"We should leave before the cops show up," I said to Jason.

"Don't have to tell me twice," he said, walking out the door.

We mounted our motorcycles and sped off in the opposite direction of the police sirens. I led him to the warehouse Barbara and I had been using on Bleake Island.

"Taking me home to the parents already? I must be doing something right," he said.

"Oh, shut up, you," I laughed.

We rode up to the hidden wall of the warehouse and I spoke to the voice reader, "It's me."

" _Recognized: Selina Kyle, Batwoman,"_ the computerized voice responded.

"What about me?" Jason asked.

" _Recognized: Jason Todd, Robin,"_ the building said.

The wall opened up to reveal the ramp down to the underground Batcave. Our bikes were lowered down into the cave while Jason and I descended into the darkness. A minute or so later, we were in the Batcave. Barbara was sitting at the computer with her back to us. She must not have heard us come in. I gave Jason a look that said _hang back a second,_ and I approached Barbara.

"Hey, girlie. Whatcha up to?" I asked wrapping her in a hug.

"Hey, Selina. Just organizing some files," she turned to look at me, "I did some more scans of the Botanical Gardens, and not much activity has happened since your last encounter with Ivy there."

"Good. I was hoping today would be a slow day anyway. I needed to talk to you about something,"

"What's on your mind?"

"Jason!?" Nightwing's voice rang out through the cave before I could respond.

 **A/N: Alright, so this chapter was meant to be kind of a bridge between chapter 8 and 10 which is why it's a little shorter, and not much happens. Next chapter will pick up right here where Selina will tell Barbara and Dick about her and Jason's plan. Stay tuned until then! Cheers!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

A wave of silence washed over the cave as Nightwing stared at Jason in utter disbelief. Barbara covered her mouth with her hands. She looked as if she were on the verge of tears. Jason had taken off his visor and was looking at his feet. I pinched the bridge of my nose, searching for the right words to say next.

"He's with me, Dick. He's agreed to set aside our differences for the time being to help deal with Poison Ivy," I said.

Jason and I spent the next few minutes explaining what happened between Ivy and the diner fight this morning, leaving out choice elements, of course. Barbara wheeled up to Jason.

"Can— Can I hug you, Jason?" she held out her arms.

"Uh... sure?" he held his arms out in response.

They captured each other in a long embrace, and Barbara wiped her eyes when they separated. She made her way back over to the Batcomputer, sorting through more files and leaving me, Dick, and Jason in another bout of silence.

"It's good to have you back, Jay. Even if only for a few days," Dick extended his hand.

"Likewise," Jason shook his brother's hand.

Nightwing made his way over to Barbara and began helping her with her files. I waved Jason near the exit, where our bikes were being stored.

"I've got someone I need to meet up with about Ivy. I'll catch you guys later," I called out to Dick and Barbara.

"What about you, Jason?" Barbara asked.

"I've got to grab some supplies from my old hideout," he responded.

Jason and I mounted our bikes were lifted out of the warehouse. When we reached the surface, I pulled out my phone and searched for the Broker's number. If anyone knew where Harley was, it would be him. Jason gave me a two-finger salute and rode off toward his hideout.

"Hey, Sherman! I was hoping you'd be able to help me out with something," I said in a sweet voice.

" _Catwoman, what a pleasant surprise. I figured after you robbed Riddler of all his wealth, you wouldn't need to resort to yours truly for a place to stay anymore. Whatcha looking for?"_ the Broker answered.

"It's not _what_ I'm looking for. It's _who_ I'm looking for. I was hoping you'd be able to let me in on where Harley's been hiding for the last little while,"

" _I'm not known for disclosing the locations of my clients. The buildings I sell are called hideouts, after all. What's in it for me?"_

"I can get Nightwing to leave you alone a while? That sound fair?"

" _Hmm... He has been hounding me a lot more lately..."_ he seemed to ponder over the idea for a second, " _Alright, I sold Harley an old auto-repair shop in Kingston. 'Finger's Fixers' is the name of the place,"_

"Appreciate the help, Sherman. Be seeing you," I hung up the phone.

I sent Jason a text message: _Meet me in Kingston when you're done._ I slipped my phone into my bag and rode South toward Miagani Island. Of course, the fact that it was morning meant that plenty of people were out and about, which meant that I couldn't just speed through the streets like I can during the night. After about twenty minutes of the morning, rush-hour traffic, I made it to Kingston. Pulling my bike into a nearby back alley, I slipped into my Batsuit and grappled up to the rooftops to observe the auto shop.

"Finger's Fixers huh? Having problems with your bike?" Jason's voice came from behind me.

"The Broker says he sold Harley this place not too long ago, but it looks deserted," I said.

"Only one way to find out," Jason said as he leaped onto the roof.

I followed after him and we made our way over to an air duct. I held my fist up, telling Jason to stop because I heard voices coming from inside the building.

"Man... Why can't we put the lights on? I can't see a damn thing," a deep male voice said.

"That's what the flashlights for, you idiot. Boss says this place is supposed to be abandoned, so we gotta make it look that way," the other responded.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Why would anybody come to this old place anyway? Harley's not even doing anything wrong,"

"She's still a wanted criminal. I always get paired with the stupid ones; I swear..." the thug let out a drawn-out sigh.

"Hey! I ain't stupid!"

"Whatever, let's just finish our rounds," they walked away from us.

I looked over at Jason, "Ready to make our grand entrance?"

"After you," Jason peeled off the metal grate.

I slid down the shaft and into the ventilation ducts. I loosened the grate and dropped to the floor silently. Jason soon joined me, and we went off in the direction the two thugs walked. I peered around the corner and saw them walking down the hall with their rifles resting on their shoulders. I pointed to the one on the left and Jason nodded.

The two of us crept up behind the guards. I reached up to a low-hanging pipe and captured the thug's throat in between my legs. I lifted up with all of my strength; the thug's gun clattered to the floor as he struggled to breathe. At the same time, Jason kicked the second thug in the back of the knee, wrapping his arm around the guard's neck. When he finally stopped moving, Jason released his grip.

"Strong legs," Jason chuckled.

"Maybe if you're a good boy, it'll be _your_ head between them," I flashed him a devilish grin.

The walkie-talkie one of the guards was carrying crackled to life. The voice on the other was cutting in and out, making the message unintelligible. Jason picked it up.

"Sorry, didn't get that. Repeat,"

" _Damn these walkies. I said 'Is everything okay up there',"_ the thug said.

"Yeah, all is quiet up here, over," Jason replied.

" _When you finish your rounds, report to Harley in the manager's office,"_

"Copy that," Jason crumpled the walkie in his hand, "Is it always this easy to know where the heads are?"

I nodded and Jason sighed while raising his palm to his head. We continued down the hallway making sure to keep to the shadows. As we came to a corner, I peeked around and saw a lone thug keeping watch in our direction.

"I'll distract him, and you go in for the takedown," I said.

"Just tell me when," Jason moved to the wall opposite us and crept along until he was close to the thug.

I grabbed a batarang out of my belt and peered around the corner. _Please don't mess this up, Selina._ I thought as I threw the batarang just to the right of the thug's feet. It glided in a perfect arc until it hit the ground with a _TINK_ next to the guard. He turned his back to Jason just long enough to check out the source of the noise. Jason leaped from the shadows, choking the thug out with his own gun. Jason threw his unconscious body as I approached from the corner.

"Nice throw," Jason picked up the batarang, handing it to me.

"I might have to bring you along more often if you keep giving me all these compliments. Now come on, let's go,"

The hallway widened into a large room that seemed to encompass the entire the second floor. The room was full guns, explosives, and a myriad of other weapons. Jason hid behind a couple of weapon crates near the entrance of the room. I grappled up the exposed rafters and surveyed the room. I counted six guys, all of them armed. One of them was putting together a rifle in the center of the room while two of them stood guard at a door to the western edge. Another one was sleeping in a makeshift bed composed of empty boxes and a pillow. The last two were patrolling the edges of the room, making their way toward Jason.

"Two incoming, ten o'clock and two o'clock," I whispered into my earpiece.

"I'll get the one on the left, you take the one on the right," he responded.

When the thug was right below me, I swooped down and carried him up the rafter with me, choking him out once we got the top. I tied a rope to around his wrists and hung him from the ceiling. Jason waited for the other guard to come around the corner, dragging him to the ground before knocking him out quietly.

"Four more," I said, "You deal with the one in the center and I'll take care of Tweedledee and Tweedledum,"

"Heard,"

I tied myself off at the feet and hung upside down above the two guards. Before they could react, I grabbed each of their heads and knocked them against each other. They slumped to the ground, unconscious. The thug in the center noticed his two friends slumped against each other.

"What the Hell?" he said, confused. Jason stood up and tapped him on the shoulder, smacking him across the face with his pistol as the thug turned around.

"That just leaves Sleepy," I said as I came down from the ceiling.

"Think we can get some answers out of him?" Jason asked.

"If we're nice enough," I smirked.

Jason and I walked over to the sleeping thug. Jason snatched him up by the collar and circled around behind him, raising his gun to his head.

"Listen up you son of a bitch, the nice lady here is gonna ask you some questions, and you're gonna answer 'em," Jason snarled.

"Yeah right! How about I just kill the both of you instead?" the thug spit on the ground.

"Bold words coming from the guy who just pissed himself,"

I looked down and noticed the growing dark spot in the thug's pants. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

"Just tell me what I want to know and this'll all be over soon," I said in my patented seductress voice.

"O— Okay! You're not gonna kill me, are you?" he stammered.

"No," I said.

"Yes," Jason said at the same time; I glared at him, "No..."

"I just want to know where the manager's office is. Think you can tell me that?" I ran a finger along the thug's jawline.

"I— It— It's d— d— downstairs. In the back of the building. That's all I know! I swear, please don't hurt me!" the thug pleaded.

I walked toward the door as Jason pistol-whipped the thug in the back of the head. I opened the door to reveal a metal staircase leading to the lower level. The lower level of the building where the actual auto shop was. There had to be at least fifteen or twenty thugs scattered around the room. Some of them working on various Harley-themed vehicles, some were playing poker in the corner. Others played hot potato with a hand grenade, and some were just standing around talking. Jason grabbed his pistol and shot a round into the ceiling. All of the thugs quickly turned to our direction.

"Now that I have your attention," he gestured to me.

"Harley!" I called out, "Come on out so we can discuss something."

Harley burst the door of the manager's office practically fuming. She stomped her way over to us.

"Who the Hell are you supposed tah be!? And who the Hell do you think you are, comin' into MY house makin' all this noise!?" she shouted.

I began to speak but was cut off by Harley.

"I don't like rude intruders. Kill 'em, boys!" she yelled as she slammed the door of the manager's office.

The thugs circled around me and Jason, fists raised. The two of us stood at each other's backs, waiting for someone to make the move. I grabbed my whip off of my hip and cracked it at the ground. Jason brought his fists to guard his face and widened his stance.

"We're gonna have to fight our way out of this one, aren't we?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Looks like it," I responded through clenched teeth.

"Get 'em!" one of the thugs shouted.

A large group of them charged at us, and we leaped into the fray. Punches and kicks were being thrown by both sides, most of them ineffective. I brought my elbow to a thug's jaw and swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Another one grabbed me from behind, holding me in place for a different thug to punch me in the gut. Before his fist collided with me, I ran up his chest and flipped over the one holding me. He lost his grip on me, falling to the floor head first as I landed on my feet. I looked over my shoulder long enough to see Jason German Suplex a thug to the ground and punching and kicking a couple more without missing a single beat. I turned in time to see a thug charging at me. I cracked my whip against his face, and he tumbled to the ground as the blood began to seep out of the wound. Two thugs flanked me on my left and right sides. When one made a move, I deftly handspringed onto his shoulders, kicking him in the back causing him to collide with his partner.

With the herd thinned, Jason and I reconvened amidst the unconscious bodies. The remaining thugs formed a tight circle around us. I tightened my grip on my whip as they closed in on us.

"Duck," I told Jason.

He crouched behind me as I cracked my whip all around us. The thugs recoiled in pain, and Jason and I lept into action once again. A thug approached me, fists raised. He reared back for a right hook; I moved to block it but was caught in the ribs by a hard, left kick. I doubled over, and his fist collided with my jaw. I fell to the ground, the taste of blood on my lip. The thug raised his foot to stomp on my face, and as I braced for the impact, a gunshot rang out through the auto shop. I glanced back up, and the thug's body had gone stiff. He fell to the ground and blood began to pool his head. I climbed to my knees only to notice the rest of the thugs had been dealt with. Jason extended his hand as he holstered his gun.

"Thanks for the save," I took his hand, and got to my feet.

"He would've probably killed you if I hadn't of stepped in," he said.

"Good to know you have my back then," I flashed him a smile, but the pain in my jaw made it a rather quick one.

Harley opened the door of the manager's office and surveyed the room. Her face fell when she saw me and Jason still standing, "You can't find good help anywhere these days."

"Can we talk now, Harles?" I asked approaching her.

"Selina!? Since did you start dressin' like the Bat?"

"I've had a change of career. Now, I need to talk to you about Ivy,"

"I already know about Pammy," she looked to the floor, "She said I can't see her until she's feelin' bettah though."

"Harley… Ivy is not the same as she was before…" I rested a hand on her shoulder, "She's planning to kill all humans, and I don't think she'd spare you just because of your… history."

"How do you know?" tears began to well in Harley's eyes.

"She didn't hesitate to try and kill me. If it weren't for Red Hood here, I wouldn't be here to warn you,"

"So, you saved her life..? I bet she repaid you _goooooood,_ huh?" she said.

"Wha— No! I mean..." Jason stammered.

I facepalmed and groaned, "Anyway, can we get back to the matter at hand?"

Harley looked over Jason one more time, "Is he hot under that visor?"

"Harley!"

"Sorry! Can we at least go talk to Pammy? Please, please, please?" Harley was bouncing up and down.

"Fine, but we have to be careful," I replied, reluctantly.

Jason and I led Harley outside to where our bikes were parked. She sat behind Jason and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, resting her head on his back, "Ride like the wind, Little Red Ridin' Hood!"

"I'm going to kill the next person that calls me that," Jason groaned.

"Play nice, Little Red," I smirked.

Jason wordlessly brought his bike to life and sped off toward the Botanical Gardens. I couldn't help but laugh as I raced to catch up with him.

A few minutes later we arrived in front of the Gardens and Harley gazed up at the large, glass dome. I fell in beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Pammy brought me here for our first date," she wiped away a tear, "At night, of course... she grew a bed of grass around us and we—"

"Okay, TMI!" Jason said. Harley glared at him.

"Let's just go inside," I said, still holding Harley.

We made our way through the dark interior of the Botanical Gardens. It still smelled sweet, like summertime. Harley plucked a rose off of a wall and placed the flower behind her ear. I braced myself as I opened the doors to the viewing chamber. A number of giant vines shot their flowery heads toward us instantly.

"You again! Ready to finally meet your end, Selina?" Ivy said my name with a hiss.

"Pammy? She's with me. Where are you at, anyway?" Harley was searching for the source of Ivy's voice.

The bark of the center tree began to shift much like it did the last time I was here. Poison Ivy stepped out, looking much better than she did last night. Harley squealed, running up to Ivy and capturing her in a tight embrace.

"Harley... What are you doing here? I told you—" Ivy started.

"I know what you told me, but I couldn't wait any longah," Harley cupped Ivy's cheeks in her hands.

She closed the distance between their faces, capturing Ivy's lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. Ivy didn't resist, seeming to enjoy the short show of affection from Harley.

" _Ahem,"_ Jason coughed.

When the two of them separated, Ivy shot me a glare, "What you did was unforgivable, Selina. Your time will come eventually!"

A look of shock and pain danced across Harley's face, "Pammy, you wouldn't kill her, would ya? Selina's one of our best friends! We're the Gotham City Sirens!"

"That's all in the past, Harley. Selina has hurt me in ways I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies, and she will pay," Ivy stared at me menacingly. One of her vine creatures slowly snaked its way toward me.

Harley protectively stepped in front of me, "I won't let you hurt her, Pammy. She's too good a friend.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Ivy cut me off, "Harley, please move aside. I don't want you to get hurt..."

Harley hardened her stance in front of me, fists balled, "No! I. Won't. Let. You. Hurt. Her!"

Ivy shot vines out of the ground, wrapping them around Harley's waist. She threw away from me but was caught by Jason before she hit the ground. The large flower-vine thing snapped its jaws as it made its way closer to me.

"Pamela Lillian Isley! You stop this right now!" Harley shouted through her tears, "This is not the woman I fell in love with!"

The vine creature continued its advance as Ivy looked at Harley with a look of despair.

"Oh, Harley... I'm sorry, but Selina... she— SHE KILLED MY BABIES! SHE MUST DIE!" Ivy shouted through tears of her own.

The plant creature reared its head back and dove at me, mouth wide open. I threw some exploding batarangs into the creature's mouth and rolled out of the way. It let out a loud growl as the batarangs exploded in its mouth; Jason grabbed his guns and fired round after round into the husk of the giant plant. It let out more shrieks of pain as it slumped to the ground lifeless.

"Damn you! I cannot wait to see your blood scattered across this floor!" Ivy was turned back to us. She clenched her fists and pods all around the room began bursting open, revealing horrid amalgamations of plants and humans.

"What the Hell are those things?" Jason shouted, reloading his guns.

"I... I don't know. This is new!" I responded.

We took up fighting stances while Harley sobbed and cried on the ground. The creatures shambled toward us with clawed hands and thorny whips for arms. Jason and I advanced on the creatures punching and kicking our ways through the crowd. Jason unloaded a few shots into to some of them, but the creatures didn't stop. It was as if our attacks had no effect on them. They back us into a corner.

"We can't beat these things!" Jason shouted, firing his guns more.

"We need to retreat, think of a weakness," I threw out a few more exploding batarangs.

"Cover your eyes!" Jason threw a device into the air. I shielded Harley and I's eyes with my cape. A loud _POP_ followed by a blinding white light filled the room as the flashbang exploded.

Jason scooped the hysterical Harley into his arms as we sprinted for the exit. I kicked the door that led to the street open and jumped on my back. Jason set Harley down as he mounted his own bike, Harley climbing onto the back. We raced off back toward Harley's hideout in Kingston.

When we arrived, Harley ushered us into the manager's office. I braced myself on the back of a chair as I caught my breath. Jason kneeled down to the floor.

"What in the actual..." he panted.

"I don't know. Apparently, Ivy can merge humans and plants now. _Great..."_ I sighed.

Harley wiped more tears, her face-paint smearing in the process, "Ugh! I feel so stupid! Sorry I didn't believe you, Selina. You were right about..."

I wrapped Harley in a tight embrace and cried into my shoulder. I rubbed the back of her head as I rocked her back and forth. She stopped sobbing and stepped back, looking into my eyes.

"When the time comes, just give me a call. I'll be there..." Harley dragged herself behind the desk and slumped into the chair, "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a while."

"I'll talk to you later, Harles," I made my way to the door.

"Selina?" Harley said. I turned around, "Thanks... for being a good friend."

I gave her quick smile as Jason and I exited the office. We made our way back outside.

"I feel so bad for her. She has no one who loves her anymore..." I said.

Jason was silent for a second before responding, "She has you. She wasn't wrong about you, Selina. You're a good friend."

I could sense he was smiling behind his visor, "I'm headed back to the cave. Barbara and Dick need to know about this. Come by my place in a couple of hours?"

"It's a date," he chuckled.

"Open," I said to the voice reader.

" _Recognized: Selina Kyle, Batwoman,"_ it responded.

I made my way down into the Batcave. When I reached the bottom of the ramp, I was met by Robin carrying a hot dog.

"Oh! Hey, Selina. Tim Drake, Red Robin," he extended his hand.

"I know who you are Bird-Brain," I laughed as I shook his hand.

Barbara wheeled up behind him, "Oh good. You're here."

"Where's Dick?" I asked, "You all need to hear this."

"Right here," Dick stepped out of the weight room, "What's up?"

I filled them in on everything that happened from infiltrating Harley's hideout to fighting Ivy and her plant people.

"So, Ivy has zombie people-plants under her control now?" Tim asked.

"And they seem to be immune to physical pain," Dick said.

"Great..." Barbara sighed, "We should all go home and get some rest. We can of where to go from here in the morning."

Back in my apartment, I changed into a tank top and some sweatpants before sitting on the couch. I grabbed a bowl of popcorn and turned on the latest episode of _Hot House: America_. While the intro was playing, I heard a knock at my door. I opened it to see Jason standing there in more civilian-style clothes.

"Come on in! I just turned on a new episode of _HHA!"_ I dragged him over to the couch.

"What in the world is _HHA?"_ he asked as he sat down next to me.

I put the bowl of popcorn in his lap as I began explaining the rules, "... And whoever is left at the end of the competition is crowned 'Hottest in America'"

"What do they win?" he asked, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"Whoever wins gets a million dollars and an all-expenses-paid vacation for two in the Bahamas! It's the best reality show on TV right now," I rested my head on his chest, shoveling wave after wave of popcorn as the two of us watched TV for the next couple of hours.

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of Batman: Arkham Rebirth. Things are ramping up as we draw closer to the final battle between Selina and Poison Ivy. With Red Robin back in town with a few friends and Harley Quinn on her side, Selina's chances are starting to get better. Who else will come to Selina's aid? Stay tuned to find out!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

I woke up on the couch, still in Jason's arms. I glanced up at his face to see that he was still asleep with his hand placed in the empty popcorn bowl. I snaked out of his arm and patted his chest a couple of times. He woke up with a start but relaxed when his eyes landed on me.

"Get up, Sleeping Beauty. We've got work to do," I said as I began brewing some coffee.

"Who won the jet ski obstacle course challenge?" he was asking about the episode of _HHA_ we watched last night.

"Ugh... Bryce," I gripped the edge of the counter, my knuckles turning white, "I hate him so much! What he did to Cassandra was such a low blow."

"Yeah, that guy's such a tool!" Jason laughed.

"I much as I hate to say it, he's probably going to win..." I thought the vacation for two, "And he's probably gonna take that bitch, Michelle, with him."

"Those two are definitely made for each other," Jason made his way over to my kitchen table.

I sat down next to him and slid him a coffee mug. We both sipped our drinks in silence, pondering over how we were going to defeat Ivy. I only hoped Dick and Barbara had made some headway with those creatures Ivy created. My mind soon drifted to Harley. Seeing Ivy like that devastated her. Jason was right, I was the only friend she had left; however, I've never been good at the whole comforting thing. I usually just drink my problems away, or just sleep with some guy at the bar. Jason must have seen my long face because he placed his hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

"We'll stop Ivy, and then this will all be over," he said.

"Until the next super-powered weirdo shows up," I got up from the table and walked to my room.

Jason followed me and stopped at the doorway, "That may be true, but it comes with the job. Being a hero isn't easy work."

"Yeah, I probably should have read the fine print, huh?" I joked as I slipped into some tight jeans and a sheer top.

"No one reads the fine print," he took another sip of coffee, "Besides, it changes every night,"

"We should probably head the cave; get a sitrep from Barbara and Dick,"

"Lead the way,"

Jason and I entered the Batcave only to find that we were the first ones there. We waited around for an hour or so before Barbara and Tim arrived. Dick showed up shortly after. The four of us absentmindedly "worked" for a long while before I finally spoke up.

"So... anybody come up with any ideas over the night?" I looked up from polishing my bike.

Nightwing gave the punching bag a final hit before steadying it, "I called Swamp Thing and asked about if he had any experience in this field,"

"And?" I asked.

"He said that based off of our descriptions, whatever was left of those... things that were once human is long gone. They seem to be under some sort of hive mind,"

"A hive mind that originates from Ivy?"

"Bingo,"

"Okay, so they're immune to our attacks and just follow Ivy blindly. How do we stop them? She has an army, and there's only four of us in the field,"

"Actually, I may be able to help with that," Tim chimed in, "I brought a few friends from the Big Apple. Let go make some calls,"

A few minutes later, Tim returned to us. He relayed that a few of his teammates from the Titans would be arriving soon. We skimmed through more files in the meantime, but there was no precedent for what we were up against. The security camera flashed up on the screen showing a group of young people all carrying duffle bags.

"Batcave, open," I commanded.

" _Recognized: Selina Kyle, Batwoman"_ it replied as it opened the doors.

The group filed in and Tim met each of them with a hug.

"Everyone, meet Roy, Connor, and Lilith. Titans, everyone," Tim gestured to us.

"Selina, or Batwoman, whichever you prefer," I shook each of their hands.

"Selina? As in Kyle? As in, I guess _formerly_ , Catwoman?" The red-haired young man stepped up to me. He was thin, but toned, light scruff, "Roy Harper, Arsenal."

"Superman fan?" I shook the hand of the taller guy. He had short black hair and steely, blue eyes. He was quite handsome, almost _too_ handsome.

"Connor Kent, Superboy," he flashed a quick smile.

The girl stepped up next. She was a little shorter than me, red hair, green eyes. Her skin was pale but pretty, "Lilith Clay, _my team calls me Omen."_

As she spoke the second half of her sentence, her lips didn't move and the sound echoed in my head.

"Nice to meet you, _Omen"_ I didn't say Omen out loud, but I could tell she heard it.

The rest of the team made their introductions and we all conversed to pass the time. Lilith stood up from her seat with a pained expression on her face.

"I hate to be a downer, but I'm getting some very depressing readings from you guys' auras," she looked down at her feet.

"Yeah, the last couple of days have been... exhausting, to say the least," I said.

"I actually called you guys up because we need your help," Tim stood up next to Lilith.

"Poison Ivy's back, and she's angry. Very angry," Dick said.

"Not to mention she has an army of unkillable, zombie, human-plant monsters," Jason said, leaning against the wall.

"If you two don't mind," Lilith looked from me to Jason, "I'd like to read your memories, that way I can get a clear idea of what we're dealing with."

Jason and I looked at each other before I stepped up, "Go ahead if you think it will help,"

Lilith placed her fingers on either side of my temples and her eyes glowed bright green, "Just relax your mind, suppress your emotions if you can,"

I closed my eyes, draining out all the emotions going through my head. Then I felt her presence in my mind. It was painful at first, but that feeling soon subsided. Lilith and I were standing on a platform of nothingness in an empty void. All around us was an endless void so dark it wasn't even black; it was just empty.

" _You're doing great, I need you to think back to your first encounter with Poison Ivy,"_ I heard Omen's voice. I looked over at her only to find that she had been replaced by a figure wearing a black and green cloak. Their eyes glowed green as Lilith's had, but I couldn't see any more of their face.

I thought the first time I went back to the Botanical Gardens. I was walking through the lobby, and it smelled like those beautiful Asters that Ivy loved so much. It was like I was watching from some outside perspective, meaning I couldn't control my own movements. All I could do was observe. When my memory-self opened the doors to the viewing chamber, my perspective shifted into first person. I started speaking to Ivy, but the words I were saying weren't coming out. Instead, my memory-self spoke for me.

When things started heating up, that's when Jason showed up and rescued me. The small device exploded and Jason shot at Ivy. Then, we were ripped out of the memory and we were standing in the void again.

" _Okay, now think back to the second fight with her. You're doing very well, by the way,"_ Omen said.

I thought back to last night. There I was, with Harley and Jason as we walked through the lobby once more. Harley plucked a rose and put it behind her ear. We went into the viewing chamber. Harley and Ivy exchanged a kiss. But things went South quickly. I remembered how Ivy just tossed Harley aside like she was nothing, and the rage started boiling inside of me. The memory started shaking violently. I heard Omen's voice trying to call out to me, but it was muffled by my shouting. The memory shattered around us, and I was thrust back to the real world.

I was gasping for air and had brought my hand up to my heart. Barbara wheeled over to me.

"Selina! Are you okay?" she shot Lilith an accusatory glare, "What did you do to her?"

Lilith threw her hands up in surrender, but I spoke before she could, "It's... okay... it... was... my fault... I just... need to... sit down..."

"Her emotions got the best of her when she witnessed her friend get hurt," Lilith wiped a tear from her eye, "But I got what I needed."

"Let's just get this over with," Jason stepped up to Lilith.

"But, Jay—" Dick started.

"We need all the help we can get, Dick. I'll be fine," he turned to Lilith, "Only take what you need to,"

Lilith nodded weakly and her eyes began glowing as she raised her hands up to Jason's temples, "Just relax. Suppress your emotions as best as you can."

Jason closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were glowing like hers. They stood there, having a mental conversation, not unlike ours was if I had to guess. Jason's head snapped back and he started gasping for breath as the glowing in his eyes faded. I made my way over to him, and he leaned on me for balance.

"Okay, so you two remember both scenarios fairly differently," Lilith said.

"What does that mean for you?" I asked as I steadied Jason.

"It's actually very helpful. From you, I was able to gauge the more emotional side of the experiences, and from Jason, I got the more objective point of view," she replied, "However, without access to Poison Ivy's mind, I'm afraid I can't really determine a weakness for these creatures. Sorry..."

Tim placed a hand on Lilith's shoulder, "It's okay, Lil. You did the best you could."

"Well," Roy stood up and clapped his hands, "I guess it's time for my plan."

"And what would that be?" Jason asked, standing up straighter.

"Well you said that these... things were immune to your attacks, but I think I may have a solution. There's this gunrunner Ollie and I used to rough up back in the day. His name is Damien Darhk, but most people called him Baby-Face," Roy replied.

"You're speaking my language, kid. I like guns," Jason let a smile creep across his face.

"Darhk ran more than just guns. We're talking the latest in military _and_ underground weapons tech. GA and I caught him selling a rocket with the explosive power of a small nuclear bomb to mob boss one time,"

"I'm guessing you think this _Damien Darhk_ guy may have something that can help us defeat Ivy's army?" I asked.

"Precisely," Roy eyed Jason and me, "And it just so happens that, due to a source that will remain anonymous, Darhk is in Gotham this week attending the grand opening of a new club!"

"Cool, so when does this club open?" Jason asked.

Roy took a second to respond, "Tonight..."

"Tonight!?" we all said at the same time.

"Don't worry! You still have plenty of time to get ready, but you might want to grab a plus one if you want a better chance of getting in," Roy smiled.

"I guess I have to get ready for a night clubbing," I walked to my bike, "I'll give you guys a call later,"

Back in my apartment, I was rummaging through my closet looking for something to wear tonight when my phone buzzed. A text from Jason: _Still need a plus one?_

I replied: _You interested? I didn't peg you for the clubbing type._

 _I'm not. But guns... that's definitely my style:_ was his response.

 _You better get dressed then. It's almost time._

I set my phone down and fingered through more of my clothes. My hands found a long black dress with a low-cut chest and a slit down the left leg. It was the dress I wore when I first met Bruce at a masquerade ball held at Wayne Manor. It was a Wayne Foundation sponsored event for underprivileged children, but I was there to steal some artwork from who I thought was just a douchey, rich air-head. He caught me sneaking through the halls while I was looking for the art gallery. I made up a bullshit excuse about trying to find the bathroom, but he saw right through me. He took off his mask and gazed at me with his pretty blue eyes.

I took my mask off too, and we instantly formed a connection. Not of love, but of lust. He led me to his master bedroom, and we hooked up in the middle of his charity gala. I didn't know he was Batman at the time, and he didn't know I was Catwoman; however, I fell after that night, he had his suspicions.

I shook away the memory and put the dress on. It still fit me and accentuated my curves in all the right ways. I did my makeup: Smokey, gray eyeshadow and Red Wine-colored lipstick. I did my hair up in a top-bun and grabbed a silver necklace that held five onyx gemstones with matching earrings. I completed my look with a pair of black stilettos and elbow-length gloves. As I walked out of my room, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to see Jason standing there.

He was wearing a black two-piece suit with a black shirt and tie. His hair was slicked back in a pompadour style. He smiled at me as I opened the door.

"You clean up nice," I said.

"I figured I should dress up a bit, gain the respect of the gunrunner and all that," he laughed as he looped his arm around mine, "Come on. Car's waiting."

The ride to the club was rather short, only a couple of blocks from my apartment in Drescher. When we reached the place, a sign read: _**GRAND OPENING! THE HOTTEST CLUB IN GOTHAM: MYSTIQUE!**_ Jason and I filed in line. A few minutes later, we were up next, but when Jason tried to step through, the bouncer stopped him.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna need to see your invitations," he said.

I acted like I was searching through my purse, "Oh, dear! I seemed to have left it at home!"

"Sorry ma'am, I can't let you in without an invitation,"

I sashayed up to the man and ran my finger under his chin, "Please, it would mean the world to me to see this new club..."

"I really and sorry, but rules are rules," he waved in a group of patrons.

I leaned in close, nibbling on his ear, "If you let us through, I'll make it up to you after your shift."

I bit my lip and eyed the bouncer coyly. He seemed to think over my words and then sighed, "Alright go ahead, but if anyone asks, Brad let you in."

"Thank you, so much!" I flashed him a wink and led Jason into the club.

The music pulsed through my body as we entered the building. A waitress approached us with a tray of champagne and offered us some. We both grabbed a glass and took a long sip of the bubbly beverage.

"Nice moves back there," Jason shouted over the music.

"Meh, tell a guy you'll sleep with him and they'll practically let you get away with murder," I took another sip, "Now before we find, Darhk, I wanna dance!"

"Absolutely not, I don't dance," Jason protested as I drug him out to the dance floor.

"Oh, lighten up, you big baby! Just follow my lead, it'll be fun!"

I dragged him to the center of the dance floor and started moving my hips to the beat. He stood there for a second before slowly joining me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and slipped in a little closer. He gripped my waist as we grooved to the music. I look into his sapphire-like eyes and bit my lip. I turned my back to him, taking his hands in mine and leading them over my body as I swayed my hips against his. I reached up and caressed his face as he brushed his lips against my neck. A moan escaped my lips, made inaudible by the loud music. We danced together for a couple more songs before making our way to a booth in the corner. A waitress brought us another tray of champagne, setting it down on a table before leaving with a smile.

Jason pulled out his phone and looked at the picture Roy sent him, "Alright this is our guy. Roy says he'll most likely be in the VIP section."

"Any ideas how we can get in there? Security's probably pretty tight," I said.

Jason thought for a second as a bouncer passed us, making his way to the front doors. I noticed that he and Jason were dressed in similar clothes.

"I thought of something, see that bouncer there?" I pointed to the guy guarding the stairs to the VIP area.

"Yeah, what's up?" he said.

"I bet you could convince him to go on break, and we can sneak up there while he's gone,"

"That just might work, but what if he doesn't budge?"

"I could always promise to sleep with him," I shrugged.

"Alright, so that's Plan B," Jason laughed.

We started walking toward the VIP section, but I stopped short at the bar and pretended to order a drink while Jason sauntered up to the guard.

"Hey, man how long you been on duty?" Jason asked.

"A few hours. My feet are _killing_ me, bro!" the bouncer replied.

"Well you're in luck, boss says it's time for your break. I'll take over for you,"

The guard studied Jason's attire for a second, "Never seen you before. You new?"

Jason nodded rather confidently and crossed his arms, "First night. Don't worry I won't let anyone through,"

The man considered Jason's words, "Sweet! Later, bro!"

The bouncer walked off and slipped by him as he passed me. Jason and I ascended the stairs up to the second level. There was a lot of high-society people up there. I noticed a few Knights players, a few actors, and crime bosses. I spotted Darhk in a corner booth. I nudged Jason and pointed.

We made our way over to Darhk but were stopped by a bodyguard, "Hold up. This area's reserved. "

"Oh! Sorry, we just need a minute of Mr. Darhk's time. It won't take long. Promise," I gave the man a smile.

Damien Darhk stepped up beside his meat shield, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Irena Dubrova, a pleasure to meet you," I extended my hand, "This is my husband, Marko,"

Darhk motioned to his bodyguard who proceeded to pat me and Jason down. Upon finding no weapons, Darhk shook my hand.

"Right, Mrs. Dubrova," he studied me for a second, a smile dancing in his eyes, "Come, sit."

We took our seats in the booth and Darhk offered us some wine.

I leaned in close so Darhk could he hear me, "I've got a problem, and I heard you were the best man to help deal with it."

"Well, it depends on what kind of problem you have," he smiled as he took a sip of his drink.

"There's a rival gang encroaching on our territory," Jason chose his words carefully, "And our current weapons don't have the firepower to penetrate their armor."

"Right, we're losing ground fast, and I'd really hate to see my father lose all he's worked for," I put on my best pouty voice.

"I'd be glad to help you two out, but the weapons required to deal with such a force are not cheap," Darhk took another sip.

"Money is not an issue for us," I took his hand in mine, "Please, Mr. Darhk, we would be very grateful!"

I forced a tear to fall from my eye, and he considered me for a second, "Very well. I hate to see such a beautiful woman upset. Follow me, if you will."

"Marko, dear, call the driver and tell him to meet us around back," I said.

"Of course, my love," he smiled as he pulled out his phone.

Darhk led us around the back of the club into an alley. A van was parked with a group of guards surrounding it. Darhk waved them off and they dispersed away from the van. He opened the back to reveal a large assortment of different armaments. Guns, grenades, blades, you name it. He dug around and produced a briefcase. Using his fingerprint, he unlocked the case and grabbed one of the small bullets.

"I believe this will be of great help to you," he smiled as he handed Jason the round.

"What does it do? If you don't mind my asking, Mr. Darhk," Jason asked.

"These little guys are called 'Stinger Rounds' and boy do they pack a punch. I could give you a demonstration if you like?"

"Are you sure it's safe to shoot a gun out here?" I asked.

"It will be fine," Darhk snapped his fingers, and a guard showed him an open case with a pistol in it. He grabbed the gun and attached a suppressor to the barrel.

He loaded a magazine into the gun as a couple of other guards set a thick sheet of metal against the wall. The guards stepped back as Darhk took aim.

"You may want to get behind something," he said.

Jason and I crouched behind a stack of crates and peeked above it. Darhk fired the gun at the sheet and the bullet was stopped about ¼ of an inch in. Jason and I exchanged a look as the bullet began drilling itself into the metal until it was no longer visible. A guard placed a small metal cover over the bullet hole and turned his back. Just then, there was a muffled _BOOM_ and the guard raised the cover to reveal the meal around the hole melting.

"That's... certainly something. How much for a case?" I asked as I opened my purse.

"A box of one hundred will run about $100, so we'll say $1,500 for the entire case," he smiled at me.

"We'll take two," I said as I produced a few stacks of bills, "A little extra, on behalf of the Dubrova family."

Darhk counted the cash and pocketed it. He kissed the back of my hand, "Pleasure doing business, Mrs. Dubrova. I hope to help you again soon."

He made his way back into the club, and a few minutes later, Roy backed into the alley. Jason opened the back doors and stepped in with the briefcases. He took my hand and helped me into the van. We closed the doors and Roy began driving.

"So, what'd we get?" Roy asked.

"Stinger Rounds. These little bastards oughta put some hurt on Ivy's army," Jason said as he examined the case.

"Oof, those things are bad news. H.I.V.E. says they've got enough power to puncture even Cyborg's armor,"

"Let's just hope it's enough," I sighed as we rode back to the cave.

 **A/N: So, this was a fun chapter to write. Selina and Jason got to flex a little of their more subtle sides. It's clear that Jason's pretty excited about his new toys, as well. Only a few more chapters to go before the final showdown with Poison Ivy. With Red Robin and the Titans here to help, Selina may just yet win. However, one more person will fly back to Gotham to help out. Who will it be? Stay tuned to find out!**


End file.
